A Baby in the Hollow
by deepfriedcake
Summary: Pre-Series. The final installment to my "In the Hollow" trilogy. First comes love, then comes marriage...can you guess what comes next?
1. Practice Makes Perfect

_Long ago, in a Hollow far, far away, this is where we left off…_

He put his hand on her arm, stopping her just in case she had it in mind to walk in on her own. "I might not be the most romantic guy in the world, but even _I_ know how I'm supposed to do this," he announced, putting one arm around her waist and another under her thighs. He picked her up and carried her over the threshold.

Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling in delight. She made a small humming noise of sheer happiness and kissed his cheek.

Luke leaned back against the door to close it. He wasn't ready to put her down yet. He wasn't sure if it was the joy and relief of finally being married, or because of all of the night's booze, but he felt like he could fly. He felt like Superman. He felt invincible. He felt… _amazing_.

He playfully tossed her in his arms, a huge smile on his face. "Have you gained weight?" he teased her.

To his dismay, Lorelai's face changed, losing the happy glow. She struggled to get out of his arms, to put her own feet down on the floor. "Um, yeah…I have," she admitted, twisting her hands together nervously.

Luke was staggered. He never dreamed his supremely confident, well-adjusted bride would take his words seriously. "Lorelai…Sweetheart, you know I'm just joking, right? Even if I thought it was true, I'd _never_ say something like that to you!"

She still looked stricken. "But it is true."

He had no idea how to handle this. "Then…whatever little bit of weight you're talking about must have gone to all of the right places, because you look incredible." He stepped close to her, and reached out to stroke her face, trying to be soothing. "Tell you what," he suggested, dropping his voice into a sexy whisper, "why don't you take off your clothes and let me see if I can find that little bit more of you? Maybe it's someplace I haven't kissed yet."

"I just don't want you to worry…"

"I'm not worried –" Luke immediately began to protest.

"…because whatever weight I gain, it will all be gone in about nine months."

And Superman, who had felt so invincible only moments before, found himself sitting on the floor as his legs buckled underneath him.

* * *

 **Practice Makes Perfect**

Everything was…fuzzy. And…white.

Fuzzy.

And _so_ white.

Luke stared and blinked, and blinked again, and after a moment or two he comprehended that the blurry white landscape before him was actually Lorelai's wedding gown, the tulle and satin seeming to move in shiny waves as she paced, spun on her heel, and paced some more.

More of his senses slowly came back. The roaring in his ears blessedly stopped. He became aware that for some reason he was sitting on the floor.

Memory was the last to return, and as soon as it did, his body snapped to attention, once more in shock.

He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. "You're –?" His voice came out in a croak and he stopped abruptly, as any additional words refused to follow. He shook his head to clear it, took a breath, and tried again with the same result. "You're -?"

The fuzziness cleared, but the white became more intense as Lorelai stopped in front of him. She bent to see him, her eyes blazing. "No. I'm not," she said tightly.

"You're not? But – but, you said –"

"I know what I _said_ , Luke." She huffed in annoyance, straightened up, and resumed her irritated pacing.

"Wait. I don't –" He scrambled to his feet, holding onto a bedpost until the wooziness passed. "I don't understand. You just said –"

"I'm not pregnant. Lucky you, you're off the hook," she said scathingly.

He was still shaking his head, hoping that this shake or the next was going to somehow clear his confusion. "But –"

She whirled around. "Luke! I drank like a fish tonight! Do you really think I'd have one drop of alcohol if I thought there was even the teeniest chance I might be pregnant?"

He forced himself to think that through logically. "No," he said slowly.

"Damn right no," she muttered. Hands on her hips, she turned away, obviously agitated.

"But you _said_ you were." He felt steady enough to take a step away from the sturdy four-poster. "Why in the world would you _say_ that?"

"Actually, I didn't say it. I _implied_ it," she pointed out condescendingly. She shrugged, not looking at him. "Thought it'd be funny."

Down in the depths of him flint hit steel and the spark traveled straight up his spine, making his jaw automatically set in anger. The remaining cobwebs vanished in a building mist of fury. "You thought it'd be _funny_?" he repeated, the words clipped, as he stared hard at her.

"Yeah," she acknowledged, unashamed. "You zinged me about my weight, it was the only comeback I could think of."

He tried once more to take a breath, to mitigate his irritation. He struggled to find the words. "You thought that telling me you were pregnant was…was some kind of a…a _joke_?"

"Yes, Luke, it was a joke," she said smartly. "I know that's a hard concept for you to grasp."

Fuming, he watched her flounce angrily across the room again. "Let me get this straight. You lie to me, and yet _you're_ the one who's mad about something?"

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't _lie_ to you!" she scoffed.

He crossed the room swiftly, wanting to look her in the face. "Really? You deliberately tell me something that's not true, and that's _not_ a lie? What is it, then?"

"I already _told_ you! It was a _joke!"_

"Some joke," he muttered venomously.

"Yeah, well…" Her gown swished as she turned from side to side in chagrin. "At least I know where I stand now, buddy."

"What's that mean?" he demanded.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all! Just, you know, I thought we had a partnership here. I thought we were on the same page with everything!"

"Hey, me too," he said sarcastically. "And I foolishly thought that included not lying to each other!"

She growled and clenched her fists. "For the last freakin' time, _not_ a lie! I was teasing you, Luke, _teasing_ you!" She started to turn away, thought of something to add, and swiveled back around. "And you know what else? There was a guy who looked a whole lot like you, standing up in front of the church with me just a couple of hours ago, and he promised to love me no matter how many stupid things I did."

"Stupid's one thing," he informed her coolly. "Shitty's another."

"Shitty, huh?" She stepped closer, her nostrils flaring. "You know what's shitty? Making me believe I could trust you, that you'd be with me no matter what happened. That no matter how crazy or off the rails things got, I could depend on you for support. That it'd be you and me, through thick and thin." Hearing her last word, she paused, smiling bitterly. "Forget the thin part."

"Wait. Are you…?" Luke rubbed at his head, thinking he couldn't possibly be interpreting her words correctly. "Are you mad at me because I'm not jumping up and down for joy about this baby that doesn't even _exist_?"

She scowled at him, nodding curtly.

"Dear God." Flabbergasted, he sat down on the bench placed at the end of the bed. "You really are a piece of work, aren't you?"

She stormed over to him, flapping her hands in fury. "Look, I already had a guy who disconnected himself from the whole fatherhood thing and I did just fine. If you want to follow him out the door, just say the word."

Furious, Luke jumped to his feet, getting in her face. "Don't you ever – and I mean _ever_ – compare me to him or I'll –" With a jaw-clenching effort, he stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

"Or what?" she taunted him. "You'll leave?" She pointed over her shoulder. "There's the door."

"Don't tell me what to do!" he roared. He stomped to the other side of the room, threw aside the drawn curtains, fumbled momentarily with the lock, and finally managed to slide open the door to the suite's private patio. He wanted to slam the glass door shut behind him, but the sliding mechanism refused to allow him that satisfaction.

From inside their room, he heard something hit the wall and bounce off as Lorelai shrieked in frustration.

The cold air smacked him in the face, physically cooling him off if nothing else. He struggled to breathe; to calm down; to think. Long minutes passed as the cold and the silence sedated his mindless anger. He was able to focus on something other than the awful words they'd just hurled at each other.

For example, he thought about the fact that _this_ was their wedding night. And that he and his bride, the woman he loved more than life itself, had just experienced the worst argument they'd ever had. And, instead of trying to make it right, his first response had been to run out the door.

"Gah! Damn it to hell!" he groaned, burying his face in his hands. Two seconds later he was at the door, sliding it open as fast as he could.

Lorelai was standing right there, stopped in the middle of reaching for the handle on her side. Her face was pale and her eyes huge and fearful, all traces of anger gone. "Luke, I'm sorry." She began to wring her hands. "I'm so sorry."

Instead of speaking, he reached for her and drew her close, incredibly relieved when she immediately embraced him back.

"That was so stupid," she murmured to him, still clutching him tightly. "Unbelievably stupid." She pulled away incrementally, just enough to see his face. "Can we blame the booze?"

"Come here," he suggested, taking her hand and leading her over to the bench. He sat down, but she remained standing, studying his face.

"Are you still mad?" she asked worriedly. "Because I wouldn't blame you if you were. Let's face it, I, of all people, should understand that you don't joke around about being pregnant. It's never been a crowd-pleaser." She grimaced. "Not my best material."

He thought about that, sighed, and then tugged at her hand again. "Come here," he urged. Once she settled beside him, and he had his arm around her, he felt more confident in replying. He considered how best to explain what he was feeling. "I'm…tired," he finally stated.

Lorelai chuckled. "Yeah," she agreed. "Tired, exhausted, drained. Way too much stuff happened today, and it's all up in here, swirling around and around and around…" The sentence faded off as she circled a finger around her head.

"You're not wrong about the booze. Made it easier to fly off the handle."

"Booze and stupidity. Never a good combo. Unless you're writing a country song."

Luke smiled at her comment, and then knew what he needed to say. "I like your jokes, you know."

She turned to look at him, her eyebrows rising. "Really?"

"Yeah, I do. Most of the time, anyway. You're a funny girl."

"I'll alert Barbra Streisand."

He smiled again. "Here's the thing, though, Lorelai. I love you, and I trust you, and I believe you." He put his hand on her left one, his thumb moving across her rings. "So when you tell me something, no matter how ludicrous or far-fetched it is, my first instinct is to believe you." He shifted a little bit so he could look at her. "If you'd tell me that Mrs. Slutsky is outside, hanging upside down from the light post, or that the fish at Doose's are so fresh they're swimming down the aisles, I'm going to realize pretty quickly that you're joking. But when you tell me something that _could_ be true –"

Lorelai took in a sharp breath. "Like I'm pregnant," she muttered.

Luke nodded. "Then I'm going to automatically believe you."

She nodded, looking distressed. "Again, Luke, I'm so sorry. My joke-o-meter was completely out of whack tonight."

"I know you're sorry. But let's face it, this'll happen again."

"Again! Are you the one joking now?" She sat up straight. "No way! Even I'm not that stupid!"

"I don't mean this exact thing, but I know you. You'd turn everything into a joke if you could, and sooner or later, there will be something else that I'll think you're dead serious about, and I'll fall for it. So what I think we need to do is have a plan for it. When you get ready to pull my leg about something that could be real, you need to give me a sign."

"A sign? Like 'here's your sign?'" She imitated the comic they'd recently seen on TV.

He grinned. "Maybe more like one of those smart-assed smiles of yours, or a wink or something."

"Maybe not that. I'm an awkward winker."

"Yes, I'm well-aware." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I don't care what it is, just give me a warning so I know not to take what you're going to say as gospel."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I can do that. Even though it will probably mess up my delivery."

"You'll survive." Luke put his hand under the curls still hanging down her neck, wanting to feel some skin. "So now that we've put that to bed…what do you say about getting us there too?" He inclined his head behind them, indicating the big four-poster just waiting to welcome them into bliss. He leaned over and softly kissed her cheek. "Let's get started on what we're supposed to be doing on our wedding night."

To his surprise, Lorelai crossed her arms and looked down, chewing her lips. "I know if I was smart, I'd just let this go. Leave well enough alone. Especially tonight."

"What?" he asked, instantly concerned.

"It's just…the baby thing." She raised her head and turned to look at him frankly. "Luke, do you not want a baby?"

"What! Of course I do!" he insisted.

She was still watching him closely. "I know that's what you've said in the past, when we've broached the topic, but that's sure not the way your face looked a little bit ago."

"That's hardly fair, to judge me when I was in shock," he muttered.

"It was more than shock. You looked pissed, Luke. Angry. Like it was the worst news in the world."

"No, that is not true." He was shaking his head vehemently. "I'm looking forward to…" He paused, searching for words.

Lorelai quirked an eyebrow. "Impregnating me?"

He had to chuckle. "Definitely."

She smiled, but didn't look convinced. "I remember, the first night you spent with me, you made it seem like you couldn't wait for us to start –" She stopped, rethought her words. " _Expand_ our family."

Luke nodded, remembering the night, agreeing with what she said.

"But yet, tonight, a little bit ago…" She pointed at his face. "That wasn't thrilled delight I saw."

"No. I guess not." He sighed, saying goodbye to his anticipation of taking his new bride to bed. At least she didn't seem angry anymore, and he had to admit, talking about these sorts of important issues was probably the most sensible thing they could do, be it on their wedding night or any other night. "I do want us to have a baby. You know I do. I want to have all of those experiences that you've already had with Rory, only this time, I get to share them. I want that very much. It's just…"

"Maybe not right now?" Lorelai suggested.

He nodded again. "Yeah. It just seems like we've been caught up in a whirlwind ever since that day Rory walked in to get you a cup of coffee. There's just been so much. Getting to know each other, the crazy stuff with Rachel, then convincing you that I loved you –"

"Didn't take much convincing."

"Took enough," he said wryly. "Then the wedding planning took over…I guess I was looking forward to having time for just us, to get used to living together, to just be… _us,_ I guess."

Lorelai nodded slowly. "I get that," she agreed. "It would be nice to take a breather, to only deal with normal life for a while."

"Or as normal as life can be, with you."

"Wow. Sounds like someone doesn't want to get lucky tonight after all."

Luke grinned. "You married me. I'm already the luckiest guy in the world."

Lorelai hooted at that and hugged his arm. "You can be one smooth talker, when you want to be." She snuggled against him. "So, what's the game plan here? How long do you want to wait before we make a little rugrat to join the household?"

"Geez, I don't know. A year, maybe?" He shrugged. "I really didn't have any sort of timetable or anything."

"We'll know when it's time?"

"Sure. I suppose."

"I just don't want to wait _too_ long. I'm not 16 anymore."

"Could've fooled me."

She laughed again. "Don't go overboard, trying to stay on my good side."

"Every side is your –"

"OK, OK!" she chuckled, turning and snaking her arms around his neck. "You know, as much as I don't like having you mad at me, you are one sexy dude when you're all irate and smoldering."

"Is that so?" He encouraged her to straddle his lap, holding her steady as she got comfortable. With all of the wedding gown material in the way, it wasn't as satisfying as it might have been, but he wasn't complaining.

"Um, yeah. Sexy. Hot. _Mine_ ," she whispered, leaning forward to nuzzle his neck.

"For better or worse," he agreed, zeroing in on her neck, too.

"And I like this, us being on the same page."

"As it should be." He tipped her face towards him and kissed her deeply.

Lorelai moaned in delight. "So what do you say, hot stuff? Wanna take me to bed and practice making a baby?"

"I thought you'd never ask." He stood up with her in his arms, making her squeal, and carried her over to the welcoming bed.

And this time, he knew better than to say anything at all about her weight.

* * *

The next four weeks passed by in a blur. A happy blur, but a blur nonetheless. The Inn and the diner continued to fill up the majority of their time, and there was always something going on with Rory and school. Lorelai planned to take a few business classes when the semester started in January, part of Mia's master retirement plan, which meant that many of her nights were spent looking through course catalogs, finding old high school transcripts, SAT scores, and her GED certificate, in preparation to be a student again. Luke had moved in with girls some months back, but there was still some adjusting to do for them to find a comfort zone with a household now numbering three. And somewhere in there, he and Lorelai had even managed to find a few days to take a quick trip to a windswept beach on Cape Cod, sort of a mini-honeymoon.

Luke had also experienced his first parent/teacher night. It was a heady experience for him, to be introduced as Rory's stepfather, to proudly print his name down as an official contact. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face.

Things were good, really good. Still just as busy as before the wedding, only now busy with different things. Luke began to see that this was the new normal for life with Lorelai and Rory. By the time each weekend rolled around, Luke was ready to find some quiet time, a chance to enjoy a small pocket of calmness.

On this particular Friday night, he needed that calmness more than ever. When Luke pulled the truck up to the garage, he was fighting a headache and exhaustion. Jolene had called in sick, so he and Larry and the part-timers had to pick up the slack. Taylor Doose had been in three separate times, and each time Luke had to grit his teeth to keep from telling the irritating buffoon to get the hell out of his business. It had been a long, frustrating, tiring day.

Wearily, he climbed down from the truck, and his left foot instantly sank into a mud puddle. "Damn it," he muttered, too tired to even put much heat into the comment. He shook his foot as he trudged to the back porch, not wanting to track mud in through the front door. To rub more salt into the wound, he'd been meaning to pick up a couple bags of gravel to fill in that rut for weeks. Somehow he just hadn't found the time to do so yet.

He nearly tripped crossing the small porch. That same damn board he'd replaced last summer was curling up on the end again. He glared at it balefully, knowing that eventually he was going to have to rebuild the entire thing to fix whatever the underlying problem was. Luke sighed as he added one more thing to his mountainous to-do list. He toed off his boots and left them outside the door, deciding he'd clean them off later.

For the first time ever, as his hand connected with the door handle, he wished that the girls weren't home. It would be so nice to have maybe five, ten minutes to himself in a quiet, darkened house. Nice to have a small breathing spell before the chaos erupted again, maybe time for his aching head to recuperate.

That wasn't to be, however. He walked into a bright kitchen full of empty containers and take-out boxes scattered on the counters. Music was playing, as usual, but not as loudly as on most nights. At least it didn't sound as if the TV was on, too, which normally added to the racket.

 _Thank God for small favors_ , he thought, taking off his hat. He rubbed at his forehead, where the hat's band had been all day, before he began to wash his hands at the sink.

"Oh, you're home," Lorelai suddenly said, sounding breathless.

Luke briefly looked over his shoulder, nodding at her as she stood in the kitchen entrance, before grabbing for the Tylenol bottle and shaking a couple of tablets out. He filled a glass with water from the tap and gulped the pills down, noticing as he did so that things were cooking on the stove. In fact, if he wasn't battling the headache, the kitchen's aroma would have smelled pretty enticing.

"You cooked?" he asked, dumbfounded, turning to look at her again.

"Oh! Well, I…I put things in pots and turned on the stove." She seemed either hyped up or nervous, he couldn't tell which. "Sookie technically did the cooking."

He took a step closer to the stove, trying to determine what was being warmed up. "What's the occasion?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just Sookie working out some kinks in a recipe."

He knew she was lying, but he didn't feel like confronting her yet. "This the magic risotto?" he asked, pointing to one pan.

"Yeah. Well, at least a variation of it."

Luke turned a little farther and saw that the small kitchen table was set for a romantic dinner for two. "It's just us? Where's Rory?"

Lorelai tried to smile and he could tell from the weakness of it that she nervous, not excited. "Thought it'd be nice to have an intimate night with my guy for once."

"Is Rory with Lane?" He tried to remember if there was anything written on the calendar; if he'd been told something about her plans and just forgot.

"No."

Luke waited, but Lorelai didn't add anything else. "So where is she?"

Lorelai glanced heavenward, bit her lips, and then forced out the answer. "Hartford."

He couldn't have heard that right. "Hartford?"

She nodded.

"What's she doing in Hartford?"

Lorelai looked down at the floor. "She's spending the night with my folks."

"She's _what_?" he barked.

"You heard me," she muttered.

"Let me get this straight." He took a step or two closer to her, his hands on his hips. "After all of the drama we've had over this, all of the times you and your mom have tangled about letting Rory stay with them, all of the discussions you and I have had over whether or not it's a good idea, and you just up and do it, without even mentioning it to me? Lorelai, what the hell!"

She wouldn't look at him, but her stance stiffened. "Just seemed like it'd be a good night to try it."

"And you didn't think you should even talk to me about it first?"

"Sorry," she sniffed. "Didn't realize I needed your permission for my daughter to visit her grandparents."

Luke reached his boiling point. "There it is! That's the truth of it, isn't it! All of the stuff you've fed me about raising her together is just a load of crap, isn't it? When it comes right down to it, she's _your_ daughter and you're always going to be the one in charge! Should have known." He stomped back over to the sink, hurt and angry.

"Seriously, I didn't think it was that big of deal," Lorelai said, sounding annoyed. "I just wanted her out of the house in case there was yelling. Thank God I was wrong about that," she added on sarcastically.

Alarm bells started to ring in his aching head. He looked with now-worried eyes at the fancy meal, the perfectly set table with the tall white candles in the center, ready to create ambiance when the overhead light was turned off. He looked again at his nervous wife. "Why is there going to be yelling, Lorelai?" he asked, forcing his voice to be deathly calm.

The fight left her abruptly. She chewed her lips for a moment, then pulled a chair away from the table and collapsed down onto it. She hunched her shoulders, staring at her knees.

"Lorelai?" he asked again, with as much sternness as he could muster.

She turned slightly to face him, putting her hands flat on the table, and sighed. "I think…" She briefly shut her eyes. When she opened them, she seemed determined to forge on ahead. "Luke, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant."

All of the irritations of the day merged into one hot point of fury. He picked up the towel he'd used to dry his hands and smacked it against the counter. "You know, this bit wasn't funny on our wedding night, and it sure as hell isn't funny now!" he snapped.

"It's not a bit, Luke," she said dully. "Look. No smart-assed smile. No awkward wink."

His eyes swept over her unhappy face. "You want me to believe this is true. You honestly think you're pregnant?" he challenged her.

She merely nodded, saying nothing.

Stymied, he grabbed the dish towel and gave it a twist, before once again tossing it on the counter. "I thought we agreed to wait a year, didn't we?"

Lorelai sighed again. "Babies don't have timetables, Luke. They don't play by our rules."

He began to pace, needing something physical to do. "How the hell did this happen?"

A weak smile played over her lips. "Well, maybe you missed this in sex ed, but the only way to effectively _not_ get pregnant is to be 100% celibate, and, well…That certainly hasn't been us, has it?"

Those words brought his pacing to a halt and a slight flush to his face. It was true that he and Lorelai had been incredibly inventive and flexible about where and when they could enjoy their marital privilege. The whole past month had been one big extended wedding night. He turned to look at her.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then picked up a napkin, beginning to pleat it nervously. "Luke, I am sorry. I know…I know this isn't what you wanted. I don't even know what went wrong. I know this is too soon, and…" She chanced looking over at him, frozen to his spot in front of the sink. Her eyes grew bright with tears and she blinked hard, trying to keep them contained. She gave him a sick looking smile. "Wow, and here I thought I'd never have a worse night than when I told my parents I was pregnant with Rory." She was trying to joke, even while keeping tears at bay.

Everything stopped for Luke. Lorelai kept talking, but he didn't hear anything. He looked around again at their cheerful kitchen, set up for a celebration. He looked at his sad, fearful wife, the person he loved more than anyone or anything else in this world, scared to tell him what was probably the most wonderful news he'd ever receive.

"Stop," he said abruptly, holding up his hand to her. "This isn't – we're not doing this."

Lorelai bristled. "Yes we are! It's not like we have a choice about it!"

"No, no, no!" He held up both hands, shaking his head. "I mean, this isn't the way we're doing this. This is not going to be the way we remember this night."

"What?" She shook her head, flummoxed.

"We're doing this over." He nodded decisively, already beginning to edge over to the back door. When he got there, he swiftly turned back, pointing at her. "Do-over, OK? Let's just…do this over, please?"

" _Luke?!"_ Lorelai shouted after him in confusion, but he'd already shut the door.

He walked to the porch railing, wrapping his hands around the rough wood, trying to get a handle on his emotional upheaval. The cold air felt good, and he instantly remembered their wedding night and his escape to the patio. He shook his head at himself and his inability to deal with anything without a cooling-off period. He didn't remember his feet being this cold, though. Then he realized he was outside in only his stocking feet.

One more breath of cold air, and he went back to the door.

"Hi, I'm home," he said feebly, feeling a little foolish. Not knowing what else to do, he went to the sink and started washing his hands again.

Lorelai was standing, staring at him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Hi," she said blankly.

"Something smells good," Luke said, nodding at the stove. "You cooked?"

Lorelai shook her head skeptically, not yet fully invested in the play-acting. "Sookie sent some stuff home for us."

"Wow, so I don't have to cook tonight, huh? That's great," he said hollowly, wiping his hands with the poor mangled towel. He pointed to the table. "Just us? We get a night to ourselves?"

Lorelai's chin tilted up. "Yep."

"Where's Rory tonight?" he asked, with no edge to his voice.

Lorelai shrugged, maybe a little bit more on-board with the ruse. "Hartford," she announced, unapologetically.

He did his best to smile. "Guess you finally caved about the overnight."

"Well, you know the indomitable force that is Emily Gilmore," Lorelai said.

"Yeah." Luke looked around, not sure how to continue. He walked closer to Lorelai. "So, uh, it kind of seems like maybe you've got something to tell me," he suggested hopefully.

Tears sprang back into Lorelai's eyes and she pressed her lips together as she turned her head away from him.

"Oh, Lorelai." He put his arms around her and pulled her to him. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He rubbed her back comfortingly and kissed her head. "Just tell me again. Please?"

She nodded, now seemingly committed to the do-over, and took a deep breath. "Luke…I think I might be pregnant," she said in a small voice.

He nodded back at her, then took her hand and led her back to the table, urging her to sit down on the chair again. He sat down too, then leaned forward and took both of her hands in his. "Tell me why you think that," he requested, as calmly and quietly as he could.

"Well…" She briefly looked around the room and took another big breath before looking at him. "I'm late, obviously."

 _Obviously?_ he thought. Was he _supposed_ to know that? But then he realized that he sort of did.

"How late?" he asked, in that same calm, nonjudgmental voice.

"It was supposed to start on your birthday, but it didn't, and I was so glad it stayed away, because I was able to give you that extra-special birthday gift, remember?" She gamely gave him one of her awkward winks.

He briefly closed his eyes as that memory warmed his heart – and other parts of his body. "Yeah, I remember."

"Anyway, I was so concerned about the timing of it, that even when it didn't start, it sort of seemed like it had because I'd made such a big deal about it in my mind. And then…" Lorelai shook her head, trying to make it seem logical. "We've just been so busy, that somehow I was able to forget it hadn't started. I just got back on the crazy merry-go-round known as our life and didn't think about it again."

"OK," Luke murmured, accepting her explanation at face value. "So you're late."

"More than late. Almost two weeks, Luke. That's like…not even a thing."

"OK," he repeated. "Anything else that makes you think it's a baby?"

"Yeah." Lorelai licked her lips and nodded. "This morning I realized how fuzzy my head is."

"I'm sorry. Your head…is fuzzy?"

"Yeah. Like stuffed with cotton."

"And that means…you're pregnant?" He was trying so hard to follow this.

Lorelai pulled her hands away from him and motioned to her head and then the rest of her body. "It's like I'm still thinking, but the whole process is super slow. Like I'm just floating underwater, no matter how hard I try to speed things up. And I feel like…my body's not completely mine anymore, you know?"

"No," Luke said, giving up. "No, I don't know."

"It's like I'm not in control. It's like I'm sharing my body and somebody else is calling the shots."

He shook his head. "I still don't see why this weird feeling means you're pregnant."

"Because the only other time I felt like this was when I was first pregnant with Rory."

"Oh," he said slowly. He finally realized that she had in-depth experience to fall back on and he didn't. "And that's how you felt with her?"

"Exactly the same. It's like the baby just zaps everything out of you that she needs, and leaves you with a head stuffed with cotton and a body controlled by aliens."

Luke smiled faintly. "She?"

Lorelai smiled back. "Or he," she conceded.

He sighed, bending towards her again. "But this isn't for sure, right? You're not 100% sure?"

"Well, no. I guess not," she allowed, beginning to look worried again. "Not 100%. But Luke -"

He cut her off. "So what's the next step?"

She studied his face. "I bought a home pregnancy test on my way home from Hartford this afternoon."

"And what did it say?"

She shook her head. "I didn't take it yet. The package says to do it in the morning for the best results."

He fought down the urge to grin, as a risqué response to those instructions floated in his brain.

Lorelai picked up on his thoughts. "And yes, if we had managed to _not_ 'do it' a morning or two, we might not be in need of a home pregnancy test now, you dirty birdie." She lightly smacked his hand, pretending to reprimand him.

His brain was chugging right along. "So in the morning, we'll do the test, and then we'll know?"

"Well, pretty much, I guess."

"These things are reliable, right?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Something like 97%, I think." She snorted. "About the same failure rate as birth control, so make of that what you will."

He reached for her hand again. "Can I ask a favor, then?"

"Um, sure?"

"Can we…sort of table this for tonight?"

She looked startled. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, can we mostly ignore it for now? Let's enjoy our nice meal, our night alone, and deal with anything else in the morning?"

" _Deal_ with it? Luke –"

He spoke over her objection, shaking his head. "I don't mean…Look, Lorelai, I just don't want to jump ahead of ourselves. I'd like more to go on than your cotton-stuffed head. So until we know more, can we just treat this like a normal night?"

She still looked uncertain. "I guess. But Luke –"

"Thanks," he said hurriedly, cutting her off again. He picked up her hand, brought it to his mouth, and kissed one knuckle. "Thanks for giving me a second chance with the news, too."

Lorelai smiled at that. "Yeah, you had a good idea with the do-over. The second time was definitely better."

He stood up, taking a moment to bend over and kiss the top of her head. "Hungry?" he suggested.

She smiled again. "I could eat," she agreed.

"Good. Let's get some of this magic risotto on a plate," he said, and started towards the stove.

* * *

Of course, saying they were going to make it into a normal night was one thing; actually turning it into one was something else again.

The risotto was eaten dutifully; not savored. Conversation didn't flow. Dishes were washed and dried in near silence. For once, Luke was actually grateful for the constant music playing in the background, because it made the quiet between them less obvious.

They went into the living room and he clicked on the TV while she turned off the stereo. They settled onto opposite ends of the couch and Luke automatically gave her control of the remote. Lorelai went through some channels and finally left it on a movie neither of them paid any attention to.

Several times Lorelai seemed on the verge of saying something, but each time she reconsidered and leaned back further into the couch cushions, keeping to herself. Luke kept trying to will his mind into blankness.

A commercial came on, startling both of them with the sudden increase in volume. The ad was for a baby shampoo. Both of them were riveted to the screen, where an adorable toddler with bright blue eyes was playing with the bubbles in her dark curls. It wasn't until the commercial ended that both of them began to breathe again.

When Lorelai glanced at him he held open his arms. After she'd scooted next to him he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer. He kissed the top of her head as he ran his hand through her own dark curls.

"You understand, don't you? I do want that." He pointed at the TV screen. "But I hate uncertainty. I hate knowing things could go the other way." He tipped her head up so he could see her face. "I don't want to start to trust we're getting that" – he nodded towards the TV, even though it now showed police chasing down a suspect – "and then find out it was all make-believe."

She put a hand on his shoulder and studied his eyes. "Yeah, I get that. And don't worry, I do know that about you."

"That's why, for tonight, I really don't want to think about it or talk about it. I know you think I'm Debbie Downer –"

"Or actually, her lesser-known but much cuter and sexier cousin, Danes Downer."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I just don't want to wake up to crushing disappointment."

She jumped on that statement immediately. "But you _would_ be disappointed?"

He momentarily hesitated about how to answer and she smiled triumphantly, apparently reading it all on his face. "Then we're good," she said smugly, and cuddled up against him.

He sighed and leaned his head down on hers.

"Luke?" she asked, a few minutes later.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really not thinking about it?"

"No," he admitted, sighing again.

She laughed in delight, snuggling deeper against his chest. "I love it when we're on the same page."

He had to smile. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

"What?" Luke asked groggily, hours later. When they went to bed last night, he didn't think he'd ever be able to fall asleep, but obviously he had at some point, because now something had awakened him. "What's going on?"

Lorelai was standing on her side of the bed. "Shh. Go back to sleep."

"What time is it?" he asked, still confused, thinking that maybe he'd missed the alarm going off.

She turned to look at the clock. "About 4. Go back to sleep, babe."

"Wait." Things were starting to come back to him, and he struggled up onto his elbows, in order to see her better. "Where're you going?"

"I need to go potty; I can't wait anymore," she said quietly, heading for the door. "I'll be right back."

"Wait," he said again. He heaved his legs out of the bed and struggled to his feet, wobbling slightly. "You're going to do it now?"

"For best results, yes." She took another step towards the door, but stopped when he starting walking too. "Whoa, there, buddy. You're going to watch me pee on a stick?"

"Um…" Luke halted, rubbing at his forehead. "No?"

"Good answer," she praised him. "Now get back in bed," she urged him. "I'll be right back."

He didn't, of course. He sat on the edge of the mattress, nervously waiting as the minutes ticked by.

She didn't seem surprised to see him there when she returned. "Now we wait," she said, shivering. She sat down next to him.

Luke pulled the quilt up around her. "You're just going to leave it alone in there?"

"You think it needs an audience?"

"No, I just…" He shrugged, unable to express his true feelings.

Lorelai laughed and hugged his arm before standing up. "Come on. Let's go wait in there."

He grabbed his wristwatch – the one that had once been his Dad's – from the bedside table, and then took a handful of the quilt dragging behind Lorelai, helping her to navigate through one doorway and into the bathroom. Inside the small room he dropped the bathmat and several of the towels on the floor, trying to make a slightly padded spot to sit upon. He settled down on the terry cloth and then reached up, guiding her down to his lap. She tucked the quilt around them both.

"Twenty minutes?" he asked, looking at his watch.

"Yeah, about that."

He nodded and placed the timepiece on the edge of the bathtub behind them.

For a minute or two they shifted against each other, trying to get comfortable, too drowsy to talk, too nervous to even think about catching an extra few winks.

Luke tried to clear the last of the sleep from his throat. "Last night you said something about when you told your folks about Rory."

"Mm-hmm," she sighed.

He bent his head to her ear. "I'm sorry that my reaction was so bad it made you think of that."

"It was a shock for you, Luke. I understand. And unfortunately, I'd cried wolf once before."

"But still…I'm kicking myself for it. I'm sorry it made you think of that other night." He hugged her a little tighter. "I take it they were mad?"

"So mad." She glanced up at him, curious. "You really want to hear?"

"If you don't mind telling."

"No, I don't mind. It just takes me a little while to get back into that mindset."

"Take your time." He tried to find an easier position for his back against the bathtub.

"Well, I'd known for a couple of weeks." She paused, reconsidering. "Truthfully, I'd known for longer than that, I just didn't _want_ to know. But the second my debutante dress wouldn't zip, I knew. I stewed around for a while before I finally got the courage up to walk into a random drug store and pick up a test kit, then it took me a few days more before I was brave enough to use it. But when the stick turned pink, I wasn't the least surprised."

Luke thought about them this morning, huddled together on the bathroom floor, waiting for the results. "Was Chris with you?"

"For…what?"

"To do the test."

A laugh broke out of her. "No!"

He didn't understand why that seemed far-fetched to her. "Why not?"

"Why would he be?" she asked, mystified.

"You didn't want him there?"

"I…" She shook her head. "He had no idea."

"No idea?" It took Luke a minute to decipher that comment. "That you were pregnant?"

"Yeah."

"You hadn't _told_ him?" He was more than shocked.

"Not yet, no."

"Why not?"

She shrugged. "Um, I don't know, exactly." She leaned back against him, thinking. "I guess I wanted time to think it through, to have a plan in place before he got involved."

"Lorelai! He was already involved!"

"Well, yeah. Technically, at least."

Luke swallowed down his protests. "So you told him after you did the test?"

"Um…it got…complicated, after that."

"Go on," her urged her, prepared for further shocks.

"OK. So the stick turned pink, and I couldn't hide behind my denial anymore, but I didn't have a clue what to do next, or how to tell my parents. I actually ended up confiding in a maid. Lousia. She'd found the empty box in my bathroom before I had a chance to make it disappear." Lorelai smiled fondly, in remembrance. "She actually had some good advice. She told me about a free clinic downtown, that I could get to on the bus. She urged me to go to my parents right away, that they'd probably be more sympathetic than what I feared." She turned her head and grinned at him. "I said, ' _My_ parents?' and she had to agree that she might be wrong about that."

"But you told them then."

"Yeah. Although – probably not in the best way, now that I look back on it."

"Why? What happened?"

Lorelai sighed. "Well, we were arguing. Not unusual, in my household. It was at dinner. They were adamant about what I needed to do during the coming summer that would look good on my college applications, and just as adamant about which colleges I would be applying to. And I just couldn't take it anymore. So I told them, oh-so-coolly, that they could shove all of their master manipulations where the sun don't shine, because I was pregnant, and none of it was happening."

"Oh, Lorelai," Luke said sadly.

"Yeah." She stared off into the distance. "It got really bad, after that." She cleared her throat. "Mom was livid. Absolutely furious. And Dad…Dad was just…broken. He was so disappointed in me." Her voice trailed off to a whisper.

"Sorry," he whispered back to her, hugging her tighter.

"After the initial meltdown, they got on the phone to the Haydens immediately, so I never had the chance to break it to Christopher privately."

"Whoa," Luke said, stunned again.

"Maybe that's why he always seemed so distant from what was going on; why he was willing to do whatever any of the parents suggested." Lorelai looked regretful. "In my defense, I was only 16. Not that well-versed in relationship do's and don'ts."

Luke rubbed her arm while they both silently reviewed what she'd said so far.

"Could I ask you something?" he asked after a minute or two of contemplation.

"Sure."

"Did you…" He hesitated. "Did you get pregnant on purpose?"

" _No!"_ She sat bolt upright on his lap. "God, no! Of course not! Why would you say such a thing?"

"Because it sounds like you were dead-set against doing whatever your parents wanted you to. And you love to shock them. You love to turn everything they hold dear upside down."

She took a deep breath and thought about that. "You're not wrong." She leaned back against him again. "I do love to throw convention into their faces. And I remember I was especially desperate at that time of my life, to figure out a way to get out from under their control. But I hope…" She shook her head slightly. "I hope I wasn't that stupid, even subconsciously."

There was another spell of quiet before Lorelai spoke again, her voice low. "It wasn't on purpose this time, either, in case you were wondering."

Luke drew in a sharp breath. "I'm not," he assured her, bending his head to give her a kiss. "That idea had not crossed my mind. That wasn't my intention in asking you. I was just genuinely curious."

"OK." She seemed to accept his motivation at face value before smothering a yawn and snuggling against him.

"So could I ask you something else?"

"Wow, look who gets all talky sitting on the bathroom floor at 4 AM. Sure, shoot."

"When you found out you were pregnant, you never thought about, well…other options?"

"No," she said curtly, no longer snuggling. But then she turned to glance at him. "Truthfully, yeah, of course I thought about it. I've always been all about choice. But when it came right down to it, it wasn't a choice for me."

Luke nodded, understanding.

Lorelai leaned her head on his shoulder. "Amazingly enough, it was my mom who fought down Straub Hayden when he suggested that. She was an absolute tiger."

"Good for her," Luke said softly.

"Yeah." She closed her eyes. "Emily Gilmore for the win." After a moment or two she roused herself. "Is it my turn now?"

"For what?"

"To ask you a question."

"Uh, sure, I guess."

"OK, then. Boy or girl?"

Luke chuckled. "Well, since I've been trying really hard _not_ to think about questions like that…"

"Well, think now. I want an answer."

So he thought, a smile slowly coming to rest on his lips. "It'd be hard to turn down another little girl like Rory, wouldn't it?"

Lorelai was smiling too. "I certainly wouldn't."

"I mean, I've seen her baby pictures. Do you really think we could be that lucky again?"

"How often do you look in the mirror, Pretty Boy? Yeah, this kid should be all sorts of adorable, unless one of us has an Uncle Sasquatch hiding in the basement somewhere."

For the first time, Luke allowed his imagination to run over his common sense. He sat up straighter, dislodging Lorelai a bit, much to her displeasure.

"But a little boy," he began, suddenly seeing a vision. "A little boy, who'd want to play catch with me, maybe fish, too…" He took a deep breath. "That would be amazing, wouldn't it?"

Lorelai turned around, putting her arms around his neck. "Amazing," she agreed. She fluffed his hair with his fingers. "Hey, do they make baseball caps for babies?"

"You will not," he stated firmly.

"Oh, you know I will." She looked critically at his head. "Now that I think about it, that old one of yours is looking pretty ratty. I should get you a new one. Blue, I think. To make those gorgeous eyes of yours pop."

"Yes, that's just what I need," he said dryly.

"Hey, what time is it?" Lorelai reached behind him and snagged the watch. They both looked at the face.

"Time," he said, barely able to get the word out.

Lorelai moved to her knees, then reached up to where the indicator was balanced on the sink's edge. She returned to his lap, keeping the important side of the stick turned over so that neither of them could see the result yet.

"Ready?" she asked him, breathlessly.

"No," he murmured.

She waited a beat. "Ready now?"

Luke squeezed her arm, then nodded.

She flipped the indicator over. The result was plain to see.

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, wow!" She bounced a little bit in excitement, covering her mouth with her free hand. "Wow!"

For a moment, Luke forgot how to breathe.

Lorelai twisted around and flung her arms around him. "Congrats, Daddy!"

He hugged her back, fiercely. Protectively.

She pulled away, once again anxiously studying his face. "Luke, are you really OK with this?"

He reached for her hand, pulling it to where he could see the indicator again. He needed the confirmation again. He ran one finger over it, almost reverently, before encircling her in another crushing hug. He found her lips and kissed her.

"I'm OK." He snorted a laugh of disbelief when he heard his tame response. "I think I may be ecstatic," he clarified, still said in his usual dry way. But he couldn't stop hugging her, showering her with kisses, his actions revealing much more than his words.

"I'm glad. I'm so glad." She sighed then, still looking searchingly at him. "Can you tell me, though, what you're thinking, right now? I just need to hear whatever's in your head."

"I just wish –" He had to stop and clear his throat. "I wish I could call my mom and let her know." He shook his head a tiny bit, happy and sad at the same time. "She'd be over the moon."

Lorelai's face crumpled. "Oh, Luke. Oh, Sweetie!" She hugged him in the same fierce way that he had her, just moments before. "I wish that, too," she said, her voice choked with emotion.

"But I am happy, Lorelai. I'm so, so happy."

"Me too." She smiled at him lovingly and patted his face. Then she laughed.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. We're just quite the pair. You'd give anything to be able to tell your mom, and I'd give anything not to tell mine."

He laughed at that; he couldn't help it. It was so true.

"And before you ask, we're not telling her right away," Lorelai said, waving a stern finger at him.

"Whatever you say," he agreed, having no desire to tangle with Emily Gilmore either.

Gingerly, Lorelai got to her feet, the long sitting spell on the floor leaving her stiff and clumsy. She reached out a hand to him and he took it, but also used the bathtub for leverage, not wanting to put too much strain on her.

"Is your bottom sore?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him, her hands trailing down to that part of his anatomy. "You need a massage?"

"Maybe." He held her, felt her shivering again. "Let's get back in bed, get you warmed up."

She looked up, surprised. "Don't you have to get work? You've got time to sleep some more?"

"Who said anything about sleeping?" he asked slyly. He literally swept her off of her feet as she shrieked in delight. "I think we've got some celebrating to do," he suggested, skillfully maneuvering them out of the tiny bathroom and down the hall to their bedroom.

Right before he crossed over the threshold, he very cautiously gave her a small toss in his arms. "And for the record," he told her, "it doesn't feel like you've gained an ounce."

Lorelai chuckled in approval. "Look who's become a funny guy."

"Only for you," he said, and took her to bed.


	2. The First Trimester

**Author's Note: Thanks for the welcome back. I've been gone for so long I didn't know if anyone would still remember me or not, so it was nice to see some familiar names! Someday I'll write a longer note, but for today, I think we'll just go on with the story.**

 **This chapter picks up on the same day Luke and Lorelai found out they were going to parents, just later in the afternoon, and continues on through the rest of November, December, and into January.**

* * *

 **The First Trimester**

"Hey! What brings you here?"

Luke looked up guiltily. He'd been trying to clean the mud off of his boots before walking across the lobby of the Independence Inn. He saw Lorelai waving madly to him from the stairs.

He smiled at her as she rushed over to meet him. "Thought I'd try to catch you before you left for Hartford."

She quickly looked around, then lightly tapped her abdomen. "I think it's safe to say you already caught me, buddy."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he tried to sound grouchy, but his huge grin instantly declared him a liar. He began to walk with her to the front desk.

"You know, I feel like I should let you in on a secret. There are these amazing contraptions called phones now. You could have just called me," she confided to him.

"And give up my Luddite ways?"

Lorelai laughed and patted his hand. "So what are you doing here? Missed my pretty face?"

"That, and I thought I could ride along to pick up Rory."

Again, she surreptitiously checked for eavesdroppers. "We're not telling my mom yet," she quietly warned him.

"I _know_ that." The grouchy tone was sincere this time. "I just thought it would be nice to spend a little extra time with you, that's all. The diner's OK right now, Jolene's back today, so they can spare me."

"Then sure. Great." Lorelai grabbed her purse and coat from her small office and shut the door. "Let me tell Michel, and we can be off."

A few moments later, on the way to the parking lot, Lorelai grabbed his arm. "Hey, could we take your truck?"

"Sure, I guess. Why? Are you low on gas?"

"Uh, probably," she shrugged. "But no, my reason is more devious than that. It tickles me to know your well-seasoned truck will be parked in front of my mother's fastidious entrance, that's all."

Luke stopped, frowning. "My truck's a problem?"

"Only in some of Hartford's finer gated communities."

Luke could feel irritation brewing. "There's nothing wrong with my truck!"

"I agree. I love your truck, babe." She tucked her arm around his back and urged him forward.

Reluctantly he started walking again. "But it's a problem with your mom?"

"She's never said anything about it," Lorelai said quickly. "But I know Emily Gilmore and her standards."

"And the truck is far beneath hers," Luke said grimly. "So should we just take your car and not bait the dragon?"

"No. I'm serious; I do love your truck. It's much more comfortable than the car, and the heater is a blast furnace." Lorelai was already shivering in the brisk November wind. "Plus, after our early-morning rendezvous in the bathroom, I'm beat. I'd much rather you drive. Please?" She gave him the pleading eyes and pouty lips routine.

"I just don't want to do stuff to deliberately get on her bad side," he muttered. Having reached the truck, he unlocked the passenger door and helped her in.

Once he climbed into his seat, Lorelai reached over to pat his hand. "This is just another example of why I don't belong in their world, Luke. Never did; never will. And it shows why they don't understand me or my life. Our life, I should say now." She sat back in her seat and shook her head. "I swear, if I hadn't seen the baby pictures to prove I was theirs, I'd believe they found me under a cabbage leaf somewhere. We have zilch in common."

"That's not true," he disputed, starting down the Independence's lane to the main road.

Lorelai quirked her eyebrows. "It's not?"

"I've seen you in that world, Lorelai. You do fit. You know how to make conversation with the bigwigs, you know how to mingle. You're comfortable there. You know how people are connected and what to say to everybody. That's why you're so good at your job. You know how to put people at ease."

Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him for several long seconds. Then, "Huh," she said, and flopped back in her seat.

"You're not disagreeing?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"No," she said, and then laughed wryly. "I never thought of it like that, but…yeah, I guess that's true." After another moment of reflection, she continued. "Of course, at the Inn, at my job, I'm doing it because I want people to feel like they belong there. I make conversation to try and make them feel at home. I'm not chatting up Mrs. Muffy Pendleton-Bedwettington so that I get better seating at the DAR meetings."

"Right, I know. But where did you learn how to do that whole social thing, huh?"

She glared at him. "Well, thanks for destroying that little fantasy for me, pal."

He grinned, no longer very concerned about his vintage truck. "Anytime."

"Do me a favor though, if you ever catch me whipping out a ruler to check the distance between candles, just put a bullet through my head right then and there, OK?"

He reached over, smiling, and snatched up her hand, giving it a quick kiss. "Nope," he said.

"OK, but if I do end up turning into my mother, you've been warned."

"I'm not real concerned about that happening."

"Hmm." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

After a few miles, Luke put his hand on her knee, giving in to his constant craving to touch her. "How are you feeling? I ended up having to run this morning, and I realized later I never did ask you."

"You mean, besides the cotton head and the alien bod?" She shrugged. "Fine. I feel great, actually."

"Good," he said, relieved.

"I was sick a little bit with Rory, but not a lot." She yawned and glanced out the window. "Hopefully this one will be the same way."

"I was wondering though, when _are_ we going to tell Rory?"

Lorelai sighed. "I was thinking about that, too. It seems wrong _not_ to tell her, but at the same time…" She faded off, shaking her head. "I guess I'd like to wait a little bit, just to make sure everything's OK. You know how she worries. Maybe it'd be better if we already had the doctor's thumbs up before we tell her."

A small trickle of apprehension shivered down his spine. Rory wasn't the only one who worried. "You think you can keep a secret like this from her?"

"Truthfully, I don't know. She's been my sounding board for an awful lot of years."

"And you two are practically psychically connected. You don't think she'll pick up that something's going on?"

"Maybe? Luke, honestly, I don't know. I think we're going to just have to play this by ear. I don't want her to think we kept her out of the loop, either. I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Exactly," he nodded.

"Let's say that we aim for after the first doctor's appointment, but that's subject to change. If either of us pick up any bad vibes coming from her, we'll tell her, OK?"

"OK, that sounds good to me."

Lorelai grinned. "And here we are, together on that same page."

Luke smiled too. "I love that page," he told her.

* * *

It turned out that extricating Rory from Emily Gilmore's domain was easier than they ever expected. Instead of feeling obligated to come in and sit down, they barely made it into the foyer. When the door opened, Emily was hustling Rory into her coat, and her overnight bag and backpack were already waiting by the maid's feet.

"Here she is, all ready to go!" Emily gave Rory a little push towards the door.

"What'd she do, spill grape juice on the couch or something?" Lorelai asked, baffled by her mom's behavior. She put her arm around her daughter's shoulder, letting her know that at least she was glad to have her back.

"What? No, no, of course not." Emily stopped for a moment, apparently suddenly realizing how she was behaving. She patted Rory's cheek lovingly. "This one is a perfect angel."

"Then why the bum's rush?"

Emily scoffed. "Your father, of course. He decided at the last minute that we'd join the Barry's tonight for drinks before the symphony gala, and I need to run to the dry cleaners before they close."

"You could have called, Mom. See there's this newfangled contraption called the telephone –"

"Stop recycling your material," Luke told her, under his breath.

"Anyway, I would have been happy to come pick her up earlier."

"Absolutely not!" Emily looked with adoration at her granddaughter again. "I'll take every minute I can get with her!"

Lorelai smiled, for once in complete agreement with her mother. "Yeah, I know the feeling." She squeezed Rory up against her side.

"Thanks, Grandma. I had a lot of fun," Rory said with a shy smile.

"Anytime, Rory. You're always welcome." Emily followed them out the door. "And Lorelai…"

"Yeah?" She stopped and turned around, looking resigned that her mother would have the last – and most likely undermining – word.

When Emily spoke, she was unusually subdued. "I just wanted to say thank you. Your father and I spent a lovely night with Rory, and we appreciate that you allowed it to happen."

Lorelai's mouth dropped open for a second, surprised at the genuine warmth in her mother's voice. "Well…I'm glad, Mom. It worked out great for all of us then." She cast a furtive glance at Luke, who nodded in agreement.

They started for the truck, but Emily took one more step and called after them. "We'll see you next week for Thanksgiving, right?" The usual bossy tone was back.

"You'll see me and Rory," Lorelai reminded her, holding the truck's door open while Rory climbed up to the seat. "You know Luke feeds half the town that day, it's a tradition. Rory and I will drive over and join you for a little bit in the afternoon, but since it's our first year as part of the Danes' gang, we want to be able to help out in the diner, too."

"How…festive," Emily said archly. "Luke, you know that you are welcome to come, too, of course."

Luke stopped on his way around the truck. "Thank you, Emily. If I can get away in time, I will."

Emily hugged her arms across her chest as a strong gust of wind blew past. Her mouth puckered as her eyes swept across the truck. "My, it must be nice to have such a…a _serviceable_ vehicle on hand during the bad winter months."

"Oh, it is!" Lorelai called out, shooting Luke a knowing look and a grin. "This one is Ol' Dependable here! Don't know we'd survive out in the wilds of Stars Hollow without it!"

"Yes. How nice," Emily muttered, her smile strained.

Once they started down the drive, Lorelai began to laugh and even Luke smiled.

"What's funny?" Rory wanted to know.

"Oh, nothing really. Grandma just hates the truck."

"Why would she hate the truck?" Horrified, Rory placed both hands on the dash in front of her. "This is a great truck!"

Luke and Lorelai both laughed this time, and Luke swiftly dropped a kiss to the top of Rory's head, wordlessly thanking her for the defense of his beloved truck.

"It's just Grandma," Lorelai said, shrugging. "So tell me, how was the overnight?"

"Pretty fun."

"Really? What'd you do?"

"First Grandma had me put on this pretty dress she'd bought for me."

"Uh-huh," Lorelai commented, sympathetically.

"No, Mom, it really is," Rory said enthusiastically. "She said I can wear it for Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, if I want to."

"Where is it? I know it's too fluffy and poufy to fit in there," she said, pointing at Rory's small case.

"Grandma said I might as well leave it at their house."

"Uh-huh," Lorelai sighed again.

"But it really is pretty. It's black and has all of this shiny stuff on it."

Luke suddenly had a clear vision of Lorelai's little black dress from last Christmas. He smiled cheekily, savoring every remembered detail.

"Hey, Diner Guy! Eyes on the road," Lorelai ordered, apparently able to read his mind.

"Yes'm," he said. He kept his eyes on the road, but the cheeky smile stayed put.

Rory looked between him and her mom, her brow puckered for a moment in contemplation.

"So where'd you go in your fancy dress?" Lorelai asked.

"We met Grandpa downtown, and then we walked over to the art museum."

"What was going on there?"

Rory shrugged. "I'm not sure, but they had a Sookie-sized spread laid out. _Huge_ shrimp, and stuffed mushrooms, and all sorts of things covered in bacon."

"Whoa, best art exhibit ever!"

" _Annnnnnnnd_ …" Rory put everything she had into stretching out that word. "A chocolate fountain!"

"Hey, no fair! You got to dip everything in chocolate?"

"You bet I did!"

" _Luuuuke,"_ Lorelai whined. "Why didn't we have one of those at our wedding? I want a do-over!"

At that word, they glanced at each other again, grinning.

And Rory, once again, looked uneasily at each of them.

"Then what did you do?" Lorelai wanted to know, getting back on track.

"We stopped at Wu's on the way home, even though Grandma said no one could possibly eat another bite, but Grandpa said we were stopping, and so we did."

"Yum."

"Definitely." Rory nodded. "And then when we got home, I changed into my pajamas, and then we played Monopoly."

"Holy cow." Lorelai looked stunned. "They let you change into your pajamas and come into the living room?"

"Yeah. Why? Is that weird?"

"No, no, of course not. Although it's quite possible that the reason it's so frosty today is because hell froze over last night, but hey, that's not unusual."

"You never got to do that?"

"Uh…no," Lorelai said flatly.

"Sorry," Rory said meekly.

"No, sweetie, it's good." Lorelai bumped her shoulder against Rory's. "It's good they're willing to bend more with you. I'm glad." She took a deep breath. "What else happened?"

"Did you know, they actually have all of the Monopoly pieces to play with? They've got the dog, the car, everything!"

"Oh, where's the fun in that?" Luke said sarcastically, having played with the girls and their stand-in game pieces. He once had to move a piece of balled up dryer lint around the board.

"See? Luke gets it," Lorelai said approvingly.

Rory giggled. "Then this morning, Grandma told the cook to make me anything I wanted for breakfast, so I had Eggs Benedict, because that sounded like something you should have in a fancy house for breakfast. And then later, I went with Grandma to her hairdresser's appointment. It smelled really _clean_ in there. And Grandma had her stylist trim up my ends." Rory flipped a strand of hair out for her mother's approval. "Looks good, right?"

"Yeah, baby, it looks great." Lorelai looked a little perturbed, but she kept whatever she was thinking to herself. "So it was a good time, huh?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, it was."

"Well, maybe we'll have to see about you staying over again sometime," Lorelai suggested, trying her best to sound magnanimous.

"I think they'd like that," Rory said thoughtfully. "I think…I would too." She suddenly zeroed in on her mom. "What did you guys do last night?"

"Hmm, not much. Ate. Watched TV. Nothing exciting," Lorelai said blandly, carefully not looking at Luke.

"Right." Rory scoffed. "I'm sure there was no lovey-dovey stuff going on at all, right?"

Lorelai looked horrified. "Us? Lovey-dovey? We'd never do that!" She paused; reconsidered. "Well, maybe just the teeniest lovey part."

"But no dovey," Luke growled. "You know how much I hate dovey."

Rory chuckled and leaned up against Luke for a moment.

"Where are you on homework?" Lorelai asked, shifting gears.

"I've still got some to do." Rory bent to her backpack and pulled out a textbook. "So is it OK if I…?"

"Go for it," Lorelai urged her.

Luke looked over Rory's head at Lorelai, trying to judge how unruffled she really was about the successful night in Hartford. She frowned, then shrugged and turned to stare out the window.

* * *

"So, Miss 'I Can Smell Snow', why didn't you let me know we were driving into this?" Luke asked mockingly, about ten minutes outside of Stars Hollow. The unexpected flakes were dive-bombing the truck's windshield, the stiff wind hurling them straight down the highway.

"It's 'Mrs.' actually," Lorelai said weakly, trying to banter back. "I guess my senses aren't quite up to snuff today."

"Mom, _really? You_ didn't know it was going to snow?"

Lorelai barely shook her head, her fingers nervously playing over her lips.

"Are you all right?" Luke asked, taking a good look at her.

"Oh yeah, sure. You know, I'm...fine." She swallowed hard. "Fine-ish." She tried to smile, but it was a feeble one.

"Mom?" Rory said, starting to be concerned.

"Lorelai?" Luke wasn't sure what to think, but he didn't like how gray her face suddenly looked.

"Stop the truck," she gasped.

"What? We're almost home –"

"Luke, stop the truck. _Now!"_ She started to fumble with the door handle.

"Lorelai! Geez, hold on!" Frantically he pulled over to the shoulder, ignoring the angry horns sounding from behind him.

Lorelai dove out of the truck almost before it stopped.

"Mom!" Rory, anxiety-ridden, made to follow her mother.

"No!" Luke grabbed Rory back. "Stay in the truck!" He hit the warning flashers and jumped out on his side the second traffic cleared. He found her hanging onto the truck bed, her back towards the oncoming traffic. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she gulped down the fresh air.

"You OK?" He put his hand on her back. "Are you carsick?"

She opened her eyes then and gave him a look of disbelief, shaking her head. Then she bent over and gagged, her hands on her knees.

"Whoa," Luke said, slightly panicked, as everything became clear to him. He grabbed for her hair and put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Mom!" Rory shrieked again. She had rolled down the window and was hanging out of it, watching them fearfully.

"Luke, I can't…" Lorelai gulped down another breath, still bent over. "I can't deal with Rory, too."

He nodded, gave her a comforting pat, and hurried over to the passenger door. "She's OK, Rory. Just not feeling so great right now."

Her huge eyes stared at him as she took that in. "She's queasy? Did you let her eat too much junk last night?" she accused him.

"Yeah, probably," he mumbled in agreement, anxious to get back.

"Wait!" She grabbed at the glovebox and after a few seconds of digging, brought out two badly crumpled packs of crackers. "Here, these might help."

"Why are there crackers in my truck?" Luke wanted to know, dumbfounded.

"I think from the last time we went through Wendy's drive-through."

"When did we go through a Wendy's drive-through?" he demanded.

"Um, I think on our way home from seeing Liz and Jess this summer?"

"And these are still…OK, never mind." He took the crackers from her hand. "Stay inside the truck!" he warned her, and rushed back to Lorelai.

The biting wind pierced through his coat, and the snowflakes were coming down thicker by the minute. He pulled his hat lower on his head, despairing to think about how cold Lorelai must be.

"How are you doing?" He had to shout now, because of the wind and the noise from the passing traffic. He put his arm around her and turned her slightly, trying to block at least some of the wind.

She moaned instead of answering and sagged against him.

"Would these help?" he asked in desperation, showing her the crackers.

"Maybe?" She snatched a packet from his hand and tore a corner off the cellophane. She put a small broken piece of one cracker into her mouth and chewed cautiously.

Flashing lights appeared behind them.

"Oh, great," Luke sighed.

"Fancy meeting you folks out here alongside the road again," Deputy Coopersmith yelled, ambling up to join them. "Let me guess, the truck just had a sudden urge to stop? Here I thought that wouldn't be an issue anymore, now that you're old married folks." He chuckled at his joke, and waved to Rory when he saw her looking back at them from the truck window.

At that moment, Lorelai stopped chewing, slapped a hand over her mouth, and bent over again.

"Oh, hey now!" Coop said, startled. "Is she all right?"

"No, she's not!" Luke snapped, trying to hold her steady.

Instantly Coop became all business, reaching for the radio clipped to his jacket. "What do you need me to do? Call EMS? Fill me in here," he directed Luke. "How can I help?"

With a great effort, Lorelai pulled herself upright, still shaky, but with a little bit more color in her face. "I'll be fine, Coop. Just give me a minute and we'll be on our way." To Luke's surprise, she tipped her head back and poured the rest of the pulverized cracker crumbs into her mouth, this time chewing with gusto.

The deputy watched her for a few seconds before grinning widely. "Luke, you old dog, you! Didn't know you had it in you!"

"Coop…" Luke began, shaking his head.

"You know I've got five kids, right? You think I don't recognize that particular shade of green?" He laughed and reached over to punch Luke's arm, in a good-natured way. "Guess you two didn't waste any time, did you?"

"Larry, please." Lorelai was still breathing heavily, but she was starting to look less peaked. "We haven't told a soul yet."

"Ah, Lorelai, don't you worry about that." He patted her arm kindly. "I keep more secrets than you can imagine."

"We'd appreciate it," Luke said gruffly.

"Not a problem." He looked at Lorelai with a practiced eye. "How are you doing now? Think you can handle the truck yet? I'd like to get you off the shoulder here as soon as we can."

Lorelai took stock of her stomach's current condition, then slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think I can chance it." She opened the other pack of crackers and quickly began to devour them.

"Tell you what," Coop proposed. "I'll stay back here behind you with my lights on until you're ready to pull out. When you are, give me a sign and I'll make sure you get back on the highway safely, OK?"

Luke wrapped his arm around Lorelai's shoulders and began to guide her towards the truck's cab. "Thanks for your help, Coop."

"Yeah, of course. Just a word of advice, though, when the time comes, leave for the hospital early, will you? None of us want it to be me delivering your baby out here on the highway!" He laughed heartily as he headed back to his patrol car.

"Hey, Rory, why don't you let your mom sit in the middle?" Luke suggested when they reached the cab. "That way she can lean against one of us if she needs to."

Rory nodded silently and moved her stuff out of the way before jumping down so that Lorelai could get in.

As soon as Luke got in his seat, he turned the heater on full blast, thankful that they had indeed driven the truck. "Can you see if there are any old napkins in the glove box?" he asked Rory. "If there were crackers, maybe there are napkins, too."

Rory dug through the contents and pulled out a handful of napkins from various fast food restaurants. Luke took them and did his best to wipe the now-melted snowflakes from Lorelai's face and hair.

"Luke, I'm fine," she protested, but weakly.

He took off his hat and put it on her head.

" _Luke!_ Honestly."

"Just until you get warmed up," he insisted, rubbing her freezing hands. "It'll stop the heat from evaporating off the top of your head."

"Oh, for crying out loud, I haven't turned into an invalid, or a character from Jane Austen," she muttered, but the look she gave him was full of love. He was relieved to see a smile struggling onto her wan face, so relieved that he leaned over and kissed her temple, even though he usually tried to limit how much he kissed Lorelai in front of Rory.

Lorelai sighed and leaned against him, closing her eyes, and he gave Coop the sign that they were heading home.

Rory was quiet and didn't pick her book back up, but between monitoring Lorelai and driving through the deteriorating road conditions, Luke didn't take the time to analyze that. It didn't even occur to him that there was any reason _to_ analyze that.

They drove through the middle of Stars Hollow, past the diner, heading for home, and it was then that Rory finally spoke.

"What Deputy Coopersmith was insinuating back there. Is it true?" she asked, in a deadly calm voice.

Every nerve in Luke's body snapped to attention. His breathing came to a halt while his heart started to beat twice as fast. Beside him, he felt the shock wave traveling through Lorelai's body too.

"What…what do you mean?" Lorelai asked faintly, probably just to buy some time.

"You know what I mean," Rory said, refusing to play along.

Lorelai sucked in a deep breath of air. "What did you hear?"

"That there's…that you've…" She floundered, looking more and more upset. She took a breath too, and then turned to face her mom squarely. "Are you having a baby?"

"We…" Lorelai pressed back against him so heavily he could feel her trembling. "We think so, yeah."

Rory recoiled, as if that admission had been an actual slap to her face. "And you didn't think you should tell me?"

Lorelai started to shake her head. "Rory, it wasn't like that! Yesterday was the first day I even suspected."

Rory gasped from shock and hurt. "That's why you shipped me off to Grandma's, wasn't it!"

Because Lorelai couldn't deny it, she stayed silent.

By then they had reached the house. Luke pulled into the drive, putting the truck into park. He wasn't sure what else to do, so he stayed at the wheel, letting the engine run.

Finally, Lorelai sighed. "Yes, it was. I needed time to talk it over with Luke."

Rory's chin went up. "Right," she said scathingly. "You two needed time." She grabbed up her bags and reached blindly for the door handle.

"Now come on –" Lorelai started to protest.

Rory practically tumbled out of the truck. When her feet hit the ground, she turned back to glare at them. " _How_ could you?" She angrily pushed her hair back when the strong wind tossed it in her face. "How _could_ you!" She ran for the house.

"Rory! Rory, wait!" Lorelai scrambled to chase after her.

Luke stayed behind the wheel, sensing that life as he'd known it had altered forever.

* * *

That night, Luke was in bed, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, when Lorelai turned off the light and climbed under the covers. With a groan she snuggled against him, flinging her arm across his chest. He slipped his arm under her head, encouraging her to get closer.

"How could a day that started so happy end up so crappy?" she mourned.

"I don't know," he sighed, rubbing his hand along her arm. "Is she talking yet?"

"Nope. Still that same stony silence. I finally get that whole 'brick wall' thing."

"Sorry," he whispered, kissing her.

"Me too." She buried her face against him. "And the worst part is, I don't know what I could have done differently to avoid this mess. We _did_ need the time alone, to talk about it first. I _didn't_ want to tell her right away, not until I knew things were good. Other than getting sick _in_ the truck, so that Coop couldn't have opened his big mouth to start with, I don't know how we could have changed the outcome."

"I would have vetoed the getting sick inside the truck idea, just so you know."

"Spoilsport."

They cuddled for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Lorelai sighed and raised her head a tiny bit, to look at him. "I've been thinking though, and there is someone I need to tell."

"Who?"

"Mia," Lorelai said darkly.

Luke frowned. "Right now? Yeah, sure, eventually, but now?"

"Right now," she said gloomily. "Think about it. She's planning on retiring, turning her business over to me, only I'm going to be about the size of a small dirigible this summer."

"Geez, that's right," he muttered, his eyes opening wide.

"I feel terrible about it. Here she's depending on me, and instead of being able to step up to the plate, I'm going to need a couple of months off. Some employee I am. Some friend!"

Luke tried to comfort her. "She's not going to be mad at you."

"How do you know? She wants to be done, Luke, retired! She told me her plans months ago! And here I am, messing it all up for her."

"It's not like you did it on purpose," he pointed out.

Lorelai scoffed. "You think that makes it better, somehow?"

"I think it makes it…normal life," he said, giving her a squeeze. "What's that saying? 'People plan and God laughs'?"

She groaned and buried her face into his shoulder. "I just dread having to tell her."

"She loves you," he pointed out, practically.

"I know, but that almost makes it worse. 'Here, turn around, Mia, my second mommy. Let me stick this dagger in your back.'"

"It won't be that bad," he insisted, although he was now worried too.

"But I have to do it, and the sooner the better. She needs to know so she can make other plans. Maybe she could bring in someone else to run things." Lorelai got up on her elbow, getting more agitated. "Do you think I should offer to resign? That way she'd be free to hire a new assistant manager and still retire when she wants to."

"Hey." Luke tried to pull her back down; tried to get her to calm down. "Don't worry about all that yet. Just talk to her. Give her a chance to think things through. Maybe she'll have a solution you haven't even thought of yet."

"I just don't want to disappoint her."

"I know. I know." He ran his hand through her hair, trying to soothe her.

She was quiet for a spell, and he began to believe his calming technique was working. "Listen, there's something else we should talk about," Lorelai said then, proving him wrong.

"What?" he asked wearily.

"About this week. About…the sad anniversary coming up in just a few days."

He blinked in the dark, suddenly aware of what she was talking about. "Wow. You're right. Didn't realize how close it was."

"Yeah." She reached a hand to his face, softly stroking over his whiskers. "And I want you to know, I'm on board with whatever you need to do. If you need to get away, or take the day for yourself…whatever will make you feel the best, I want you to do it."

He thought about his dad, and then thought about how he'd bailed on the town for the past few years, just to get away from the memories. "You know," he said slowly, "I think I'm good. I don't think I need to make a big deal about it this year."

"Really?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I mean, I miss my dad, sure, and I wish – more than ever, I wish he was still around. But I'm happy. Really happy. And I know I don't want to waste a day I could have with you instead. I'd rather spend the day here, with you and Rory."

"Really?" she asked again, but this time she sounded teasing. "Even if it means spending the day with Rory's evil twin, Sory, instead?"

He chuckled quietly. "As I recall, that's who I had to spend the day with last year, too."

Lorelai also laughed, as softly as possible. "Oh, that's right! Hey, maybe it's like a yearly thing? Like being a werewolf or something? This bratty thing just erupts occasionally and then goes away, and we get our sweet Rory back?"

"She'll come around."

Lorelai sighed deeply. "I hope so. This baby thing won't be nearly as fun if she's angry about it all the time."

"Oh, come on!" he scoffed. "This is Rory! She'll think it through, make a pro-con list, and in a day or two she'll be back to normal. You'll see."

"Right," said Lorelai, unconvinced.

"I mean, what's the alternative? She stays mad the whole nine months, hates the baby when it gets here?"

Both of them suddenly froze, realizing that terrible future could be the truth.

"Nah!" they both said, hurriedly trying to dispel the awful vision.

"She'll be fine," Luke said decisively. "Give her a day or two to stew, and she'll accept it. But in the meantime…" He leaned over and kissed her. "I love you, and I love your bratty daughter, and I already love this one here." He gently smoothed his hand over her stomach.

He could faintly see the smile blooming on her face. "Do you? Even if it grows up to be bratty too?"

"Not gonna happen. We're going to have the perfect kid."

"Said like every other first-time parent. I'll remind you of that at every 2 AM feeding."

Luke pulled her against him, hoping they were both ready to drift into sleep. "Can't wait," he told her, already feeling drowsy.

* * *

Rory's evil twin was still around on Monday morning, sullenly joining them for breakfast. She grabbed the plate of pancakes Luke had ready for her and sat down at the table, pouring the syrup liberally, pointedly ignoring both of them.

Luke chanced a glance back over his shoulder. Lorelai met his eyes, looking resigned. She sighed and dove in.

"So, Rory, I'd like to talk to you for a little bit."

Rory shoved a fork full of pancake in her mouth and dipped one shoulder, seeming to indicate in evil twin-speak, 'Go ahead, but I'm not talking to you.'

Lorelai was holding a mug of doctored coffee, made up of lots of cream and some weak coffee, the compromise she'd worked out with Luke. She squeezed it now, trying to prepare for the worst. "We need to talk about this baby news."

Rory shoved in more pancake, giving no indication she'd even heard her mother.

"The thing is, we're not ready to let anyone else know about it yet, at least, hardly anyone, not until we're sure everything is a go."

Rory stopped chewing and actually looked at Lorelai. "What do you mean?" she questioned, her mouth still full.

"Well, sometimes babies…especially this early…" Lorelai frowned and looked into her mug. "Sometimes early pregnancies don't go as they should."

For the first time, a very small crack appeared in the hostile armor Rory had wrapped around herself. "You mean, something could happen to the baby?" she asked, sounding horrified. All at once her big blue eyes were warm and empathetic.

"Yeah, sadly…that happens, sometimes. It's called a miscarriage. And that's why people often keep the news to themselves for a while until they get past the first couple of months, just to make sure it's really going to happen. They don't want to have to tell everyone something sad, after already celebrating something happy."

Rory opened her mouth, as if she'd thought of something else to ask. Lorelai shared a hopeful look with Luke, and Rory saw it. Instead of talking, she viciously cut through the stack of pancakes and angrily stuffed a huge bite into her mouth.

Lorelai momentarily hung her head, seeing that she'd lost whatever advantage had briefly appeared. "Anyway, we'd like to ask you to please not tell any of your friends, or anyone else in town about this yet. Not until after we've seen the doctor and feel pretty confident that everything's OK. Then we'll tell everyone, all right?"

Rory stood up, gulping down some orange juice as she did so. She scrubbed syrup off her lips with a napkin, then grabbed her backpack. "I don't plan to talk about this baby ever, so don't worry, I won't spoil your big news," she said mockingly. Without another word or look, she stomped to the front door.

Troubled, Luke walked over to his clearly wounded wife. He put his hand on her neck, massaging lightly. "Do you think she remembers I'm driving her to school?" he asked wryly, as quietly as possible.

Lorelai put down her mug and leaned forward, putting her hands over her eyes.

"Listen," he said, still rubbing her neck, "do you know when you're talking to Mia today?"

"No, not yet."

"Could you let me know? I'd like to be there."

"Why?" She looked up at him suspiciously.

"I know she's your boss, and this is a work thing, but she's…well, she's special to me, too, Lorelai. This is big news, and I'd like to be there when she hears it."

Her look softened. "Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of that." She chuckled a little bit, still sounding unhappy. "This gets confusing, doesn't it? All of these interwoven lives. But sure, you should be there. I'll call you and let you know, OK?"

"Thanks." He bent to kiss her. "There are plenty of pancakes over there for you, too."

"I'm _waiting!"_ Rory yelled. They both cringed at her haughty tone.

"I'm off then, to take Her Royal Highness, the evil Princess Sory, to school," Luke said snidely, and was happy that the comment made Lorelai laugh, however briefly. "No full strength coffee," he warned her, as he left the kitchen.

* * *

"I'm glad you're here," Lorelai told him later that afternoon, when she met him at the Inn's front door. They shared a quick kiss of greeting. "I'd underestimated the value of moral support."

"That's my new purpose in life," he told her. Arm-in-arm, they headed towards Mia's office.

They stopped just outside her open door. Luke took off his coat and hat, and smoothed down his hair before nodding at Lorelai. She took a deep breath for courage and poked her head inside the office.

"Hey, Mia! You ready for us?"

"Of course!" she replied jovially, before Lorelai's words registered. "Wait. Us?" she then wondered. "Oh, Lucas! What a nice surprise," she said fondly, as he entered the room behind Lorelai.

There were hugs and then they all sat down. "Did you come by to see your lovely bride?" Mia speculated.

Luke glanced at Lorelai before he answered. "No, I'm here to see you."

"Me?" Mia looked astonished. She looked from him to Lorelai. "What about?"

"There's something I…we…need to tell you." Awkward because of her nerves, Lorelai got up, stumbled past Luke's knees, and shut the office door.

Mia's eyes grew wider and more apprehensive as she watched Lorelai take her seat again. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Luke said firmly. At the same time, Lorelai mumbled "Kind of."

"You must tell me," Mia said resolutely. "Now."

"That's what I said." Lorelai moved to the edge of her chair and rubbed her hands together anxiously. "I said that we needed to tell you right away, because otherwise it's not fair. You need to know, and the sooner the better."

"I agree," Mia said dryly.

"So we should…we should tell you. And tell you is what…we're going to do." Lorelai's face was getting paler with each word, the freckles over her nose suddenly becoming much more visible. Her breathing got choppy as she continued to clasp and unclasp her hands together.

"My dear, are you all right?" Mia asked, becoming concerned.

Lorelai gulped, then pressed her lips together tightly. The next moment, she lunged for the trashcan beside Mia's desk.

"Oh, geez." Luke stood up, prepared to help.

"Lorelai! Child, what's wrong?" Mia flew around her desk to come to Lorelai's aid. She put one hand on her shoulder, while the other stroked over Lorelai's forehead and hair. "You poor thing," she commiserated. "Have you caught the flu?"

Lorelai shook her head, her eyes squeezed shut, trying mightily to keep her lunch down.

Mia suddenly straightened up, instinctual knowledge lighting up her face. "Oh my heavens! Are you pregnant?"

Still looking miserable, Lorelai nodded.

Mia squealed. Actually squealed. Luke looked at her in shock, never dreaming she was capable of such a noise.

"What wonderful, wonderful news!" She patted Lorelai's back, and then, beaming, rushed over to hug Luke. "A baby! How marvelous!" She hugged Luke again before going back over to tend to Lorelai.

"But Mia, this is going to mess up your plans." Lorelai pulled her legs up so she could sit beside the trashcan. "I'm so sorry. This isn't the way –"

"Who cares about my plans? There's a baby!" Mia bent over to hug Lorelai, who was looking less nauseous by the second.

"Maybe you don't understand." Lorelai shook her head. "Most likely this baby is going to show up at about the same time you want to start your retirement. Mia, I'm so sorry."

"Now that's enough," she said firmly. "Not one more word of regret concerning anything about this pregnancy, do you hear me?"

Luke came over to help Lorelai to her feet. "You can probably tell, this was a surprise."

"The best kind of surprise," Mia said confidently, taking her seat behind the desk again.

Luke and Lorelai sat back down too, although Luke kept his hand on Lorelai's chair.

"How do you want me to handle this?" Lorelai asked. "I've already told Luke, I'll step away if you want me to, so that you're free to hire someone else to take my place."

"Don't be ridiculous! Why would I want you to do that?"

"So that…" Lorelai looked over at Luke, and shrugged. "You need someone who can run this place. You need to get someone in, and trained, so that your retirement plans can stay in place."

"I'm not leaving!" Mia looked aghast. "There's a baby coming! If you think I'm leaving now, you're both crazy!"

Lorelai looked so confused. "But this coming summer, you want to retire next summer."

Mia sighed. "Would it surprise you to know I've been having second thoughts about that?"

"Yes?" Lorelai still looked confused, and Luke nodded in agreement.

"My decision to retire was somewhat impulsive." She folded her hands on her desk and looked at them in contemplation. "I miss my boys, but then I realized I'd miss this place too. I was starting to panic, thinking about what it would actually feel like to walk away from the Independence and this quirky town. Not to mention having to leave my other family." She smiled at them both. "But my dilemma was that I'd already told you I was leaving and put you in charge. I didn't want to disappoint you, Lorelai."

Lorelai scooted to the edge of her seat again, but this time she was smiling. "And I _really_ didn't want to disappoint you."

"Never," Mia insisted, looking at each of them affectionately.

"You're not going to retire?" Luke asked, needing clarification.

"Oh, eventually. But there's no reason it has to be now. I can easily stay another year or two. Let's get this baby here, let me spoil it to pieces, and then we'll reassess. How does that sound?"

"That sounds _amazing_." Lorelai still looked stunned.

"Now let's get to the important things. How are you? When is the baby due? Who else have you told?"

"Well…" She laughed a little bit, trying to shift gears. "I'm fine, other than the occasional bouts of ickiness such as the one you were just treated to. I think the baby will probably make an appearance in July? August?" She looked at Luke, shrugging again. "This just became apparent over the weekend, so we haven't been to the doctor yet or anything. Haven't really told anyone yet, either. I just wanted to make sure you knew there was going to be a hitch in your plans."

"So I'm the first? My, don't I feel special!" She pretended to preen. "Oh, but surely Rory knows! Tell me, please! How delighted is she about being a big sister?"

Luke grimaced involuntarily and Mia saw. "She's not happy?" she asked in disbelief.

Lorelai sighed, studying her hands. "She…is not." She looked frankly at Mia. "She's angry at us. She doesn't want to hear anything about it. She refuses to say one word about it."

" _Rory?"_ Mia was thunderstruck.

"It's been pretty awful," Luke confirmed.

"Oh, but…" Mia struggled for words. "This is surely just a temporary problem. An early form of sibling rivalry, perhaps. Or just some sort of adjustment she needs to work through. I mean, this is _Rory_ , for goodness sake! _Of course_ she'll end up being the doting big sister!"

Sadness made Lorelai hunch over, and Luke automatically reached for her hand. "We hope so," he told Mia, but his voice lacked conviction.

Mia blinked a few times, comprehending how dire the situation must be. She stood up slowly, and made her way to Lorelai's side. She bent down and took her other hand. "Lorelai, she's at that age where sometimes everything is a struggle. The universe is out to get her, personally. She probably just needs to get used to the idea. After all, it's been only the two of you for her whole life, and now suddenly her family is doubling. That's a lot to take in."

Lorelai sighed gloomily. "Yeah, and now she has actual proof that Luke and I have been –"

" _Lorelai_ ," Luke threatened, squeezing her hand tighter.

She gave him a weaker version of her normal smart-ass smile.

Mia chuckled. "Yes, that's always so embarrassing. No youngster likes to think about that going on!"

Lorelai grinned a little wider. "No child, at any age, wants to think about their parents getting frisky!"

"The main thing is, this is still our sensible, kind Rory. She'll come around. Oh, Lorelai, just think about the first time she goes shopping with you and picks out some little baby outfit! She'll be on board before you know it."

Luke began to feel more hopeful. Rory _did_ love shopping with her mom. Maybe that was just the hook they needed with her.

Mia smiled at him, while patting Lorelai's shoulder. "And if all else fails, you just send her to me. I'll set her straight!" she promised, laughing as she pretended to flex the nonexistent muscle in her bicep.

* * *

As Luke suspected, his once sad day passed by uneventfully. He stayed busy, and his mind, during the day's few quiet spells, focused on the baby that was coming, not the family he'd lost. Rory even came up to him during the evening and gave him a quiet hug, once she realized the significance of the day.

Thanksgiving blew by in much the same way. The girls helped out in the diner, ran over to Hartford for a couple of hours, then returned to help him _clean up_ : which to them apparently meant eating all of the leftover pie. He didn't mind, though, because Rory seemed happy to be with them, and he and Lorelai waited until they were upstairs in their own room to whisper to each other about how grateful they were for the baby that was coming.

In another blink of the eye it was time to put on a nice suit and tie for the Gilmore's too-early Christmas party. As Luke got ready to go, he reflected on last year, when both of the girls wanted him to come with them to Hartford. Now here he was, an official member of the family, suiting up to go take his lumps in Richard and Emily's world.

He also remembered putting Rory up on his shoulders when they decorated the tree last December, and how the realization had hit him that she'd be too grown up to allow such a thing this year. Too mature, and now too angry about the baby to even consider it. Luke sighed and pulled out the messy knot in his tie, deciding he'd try it again. The sadness about Rory was a constant, ongoing ache that he still had no idea how to cure, but the knowledge that next year he'd be showing the Christmas lights and his family's ornaments to a new baby helped to mitigate the pain somewhat.

Even though they got to the Gilmore's fairly close to the starting time for the party, things were already bustling. "I'm going to go put on my party dress," Rory said, and ran up the stairs to Lorelai's old room.

Luke and Lorelai gave their coats to the maid who had answered the door, then went to the doorway of the living room. They watched for a moment, getting their bearings, and waved and nodded to Richard and Emily, who were in the midst of chatting with their friends.

"You're sure you don't want to tell them?" Luke asked quietly, bending his head closer to Lorelai's.

"No," Lorelai said emphatically. "My mom gets too hyper over this party. She's always half-frantic from the preparations. Let's just get through it, do their gifts when we can, and let them go relax in Bermuda. Once they get back, all tanned and rested, we'll break it to them then."

Luke gave her a closer look. "And you're going to be OK?"

"I'll be fine. I'll ask the bartender to give me some ginger ale in a wine glass, and if I do get sick and Mom finds out, I'll just tell her I ate one too many apple tarts. She'll totally believe that."

A familiar face suddenly moved into Luke's line of vision. "Did you –?" he started to say, but he could tell by the half-angry, half-shocked look on Lorelai's face that it was as much of a surprise to her as it was to him.

"Well, if it's not the newlyweds," Christopher said in a sort of faux-happy way, sticking his hand out to Luke for a shake. "How's it going?"

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai demanded.

"Don't get bent out of shape," Christopher warned her. "It was totally innocent. I ran into your mom at the liquor store earlier today, and she invited me to drop by. She thought Rory would get a kick out of seeing me, that's all."

Lorelai looked at him for a long time, relaxing once she decided to take him at his word. "Yeah, she'll be thrilled."

"Where is she?" Chris looked past their shoulders.

"She ran upstairs to change. She should be down soon."

"Oh, poor kid." Chris laughed pityingly. "One of your mom's dresses? How many scratchy underskirts?"

Lorelai grinned, and Luke felt the bitter jab of otherness. He hated that Christopher had been in on the family jokes for a lot longer than he had.

"Apparently it's not too bad. Rory says she likes it, but I'm withholding judgement until I actually see it."

Christopher started to say something else, but he suddenly took a closer look at Lorelai. His eyes opened in wide appreciation, undoubtedly something like Luke's had last year, when Lorelai had debuted the little black dress. This year she was wearing a gray one shot with silver threads, and even though the dress was demure enough for her mother's Christmas party, she nonetheless looked spectacular in it.

"Wow, Lor!" He took her hands and moved her a little bit from side to side. "Man, you look _fantastic_!" He begrudgingly shot a slight smile at Luke. "Obviously being married agrees with you."

"It does," Lorelai coolly agreed. Luke merely nodded, but he did put his arm around her waist, silently staking his claim, just in case Christopher had forgotten.

Chris took a step back, allowing them their space. "Well, I'm off to work the room. Think I can finagle a job out of someone?" He gave them a wink and a nod as he moved off. "Send Rory my way when she comes down, OK?"

Much later in the evening, after multiple apple tarts for Lorelai and too much small talk for Luke, Christopher sought them out again, but this time, his face was grim. "I need to talk to you guys. Maybe outside?" he suggested.

"What about?" Lorelai wanted to know, not keen on going out in the cold.

"Just…" He put his hands in his pockets, not looking at them. "It's something we should discuss in private." Once again he zeroed in on Lorelai. "It's definitely something you don't want your mom to hear."

Lorelai sighed in annoyance. "Fine. Let's go freeze."

However, the patio wasn't bad because a small heater was warming the outside space. "What's going on?" Lorelai wanted to know.

Chris snorted. "That's what I was going to ask you."

She shrugged. "What do you mean?"

He looked around furtively before he spoke. "Rory basically just asked me about the probability of coming to live with me."

" _What?!"_ Luke barked. Lorelai looked stricken, and he hurriedly put his arm around her again. "What are you talking about?"

Chris looked at him sharply. "For some reason, now that you're in the house, Rory seems to be looking for someplace else to live. I want to know why."

"What _exactly_ did she say?" Lorelai asked. Her face had lost the beautiful glow from earlier in the evening.

"Well, she just wanted to know what my apartment was like, and if I'd have room for her or not. At first I assumed she wanted to come for a visit, but then she started asking me how far away it was from Stars Hollow, and if there was a school nearby. A library. That kind of stuff, you know? That's when I clued in that something else was going on."

Lorelai turned to Luke, close to tears. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders, squeezing tight. "It's up to you," he whispered to her.

She slumped against him, sighing. After a moment she pushed away and faced Christopher. "I'll tell you, Chris, but you have to promise to keep this on the down-low. Nobody knows yet, not even my folks. Please, please, keep this to yourself."

Chris shook his head. "It depends on what it is, Lor. If Rory feels threatened, or if she's not comfortable in her own house, I'm not keeping quiet."

Lorelai started to protest, but Luke spoke up. "It's not anything like you're thinking, but I agree that if it _was_ , you should absolutely fight for Rory's happiness. That's why I'm going to trust that you'll do the right thing after we tell you."

After thinking about that, Chris nodded, and then they both turned to look at Lorelai. She spread her hands out, looking conflicted. "OK then, here's the deal." She blew out a breath of air. "I'm pregnant," she said simply.

His eyes opened wide again, completely floored by her news. "You're…OK. Wow. That's…that's big news, all right. Wow." He put his hands on his hips and studied the ground for a few seconds, nodding his head from time to time. Finally he looked straight at her. "And you're sure?"

"Just as sure as when Rory was on her way."

"Then…I guess that's a yes."

"Positive in every way."

"So…that's that, I guess." He took a few more moments, trying to wrap his head around the news. "Wait. Why's Rory upset?"

"Because –" Lorelai bit her lips and hung her head, unable to go on.

"This was a surprise," Luke said gruffly, taking over. "We didn't get to tell Rory the way we wanted to, she found it out before we were ready to tell her, and ever since she did, she's been angry about it. She's mad at us. We can't get her to talk about it. She won't even tell us exactly what she's mad about. We keep trying to let her take her time and make peace with it, but it's been pretty rough."

"I had no idea it was this bad, though," Lorelai said weakly, sadness flowing over every word. "No idea."

Chris shook his head. "Well, thanks for filling me in. You think you'll be able to deal with her?"

"I hope so," Luke sighed. "Eventually. Lorelai thinks it will be best if we just let her come to terms with it on her own."

"Hopefully before _I_ come to term," Lorelai feebly joked, trying to smile.

"It's early days yet, I take it?"

They both nodded confirmation.

"Then your secret's safe. I won't blab, I promise."

"Thanks, Chris."

"We appreciate it," Luke added.

"Sure. Sure." He seemed disoriented, and at first turned the wrong way to go back into the house. "Hey, uh, congratulations, right?" he offered as he finally headed for the door, his voice sounding anything but glad.

Luke and Lorelai watched him go. "I guess Rory's more like him than I ever thought," Lorelai peevishly observed.

Luke kept his own misgivings to himself.

* * *

Two weeks later, it was time for the Danes' side of the family to celebrate.

It had been Lorelai's idea, of course. She was the one who thought he needed to connect with his sister and his nephew; she was the one who called and issued the invitation and made the subsequent arrangements. But once Luke saw how much she was looking forward to the visit, and how even Rory was excited by the idea of seeing Jess again, he quickly came on board.

They were going to stay in his old apartment over the diner, but they were coming to the house first. Rory was trying to play it casual, but she kept going to look out the window to check every few minutes during the afternoon they were expected.

"They're here!" she finally shrieked, her cool façade cracking as she ran to open the door.

"We're finally here!" Liz shrieked too, as she exuberantly flung herself at her brother, hugging him hard.

Rory rushed up to Jess, but slowed before she reached him, apparently having second thoughts. He looked conflicted about the proper way to greet her, too, and they finally settled on the world's most awkward high-five.

Liz disentangled from Luke and headed towards Lorelai. "Hey, can I call you Sis? Because I sure always wanted a sister!"

"Fine with me!" Lorelai laughed, swallowed up by Liz's bear hug. "I always wanted a sister, too."

Abruptly, Liz pushed away from Lorelai, a funny look on her face. Her mouth dropped open as she studied her sister-in-law. "Oh, my God! You're pregnant!"

Luke groaned involuntarily as Lorelai shot him a panicked look.

"You are, aren't you!" Liz declared, still sizing her up. "I'm never wrong about these things."

Lorelai pushed her hair back, sighing. "You're not wrong this time, either."

"Huzzah!" Liz shouted, clapping her hands. "That is fantastic!" She instantly threw her arms around Lorelai again, this time in a congratulatory hug.

"Wait, I thought…" Jess was looking between a quietly fuming Rory and the three adults. "I thought that was just a joke, the thing about getting married and having babies."

"I wish," Rory said sullenly.

Jess started to say something else, but stopped when his mother ran back to give Luke another hug, too, chattering as she went.

"Wow, I guess it's something in the genes, huh?" she delightedly told her brother, poking him in the ribs.

"What are you talking about?" he muttered, rubbing the spot she'd poked.

"You know, wedding night conceptions."

"What?"

She stopped her happy dance then, staring at him in disbelief. "Seriously, Luke, you never did the math?"

He scowled at her while he counted up the months, and then his face slackened as he realized the disturbing truth. "I guess I never…looked at it that way," he admitted uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck.

Liz hooted with laughter at her clueless brother. "Is there anything else I need to fill you in about?"

"How'd you know?" he groused.

"I heard Mia say something to Mom once, teasing her, but I was too little to understand at the time. Later on, after I learned more about the birds and the bees, it finally made sense. Plus I could count to nine." She grinned at him. "But you know what, you turned out fine. Chances are your kid will be the same way."

Lorelai decided to pile on with the teasing, coming over and putting her arm around her husband. "He's adorable, isn't he? So innocent. Never looking at the seedy underbelly of things; always looking on the bright side."

"Oh, yeah, that's our Luke!" Liz laughed. "Always such a Mr. Sunshine!"

Luke stood there and took it for a few minutes, but when the conversation began to shift into comparisons of their previous pregnancies, he edged toward the door. Rory and Jess had left the room already and he thought he'd go check on them and see if they needed a snack or a drink.

"They're having a baby, huh?" he heard Jess say as he walked towards Rory's room.

"Apparently," she said in that snotty tone he'd grown to hate.

"Why's your nose all out of joint about it?" Jess asked.

Luke stopped, unsure about what to do. He really, really wanted to hear her answer, but he suspected eavesdropping wasn't something found in that 'mom code' Lorelai kept talking about. Nonetheless, he stayed where he was, barely breathing, waiting to hear.

"It has nothing to do with _me_ ," she declared.

"You don't want to have a brother or a sister? I always thought it might be kinda nice, not to be the only kid."

Rory snorted. "What would be nice –"

"Luke! Where are you?" Lorelai yelled.

Busted, Luke threw himself against the wall, hoping maybe he could disappear into the plaster. Quickly getting a grip, he took a breath and decided how to play it.

"I'm just checking on the kids," he yelled back to her. A nanosecond later, he stuck his head into Rory's door. "Hey, you guys want a snack or something?"

"Ooh, snacks!" Lorelai and Liz were walking up behind him. "Great idea! Let's go sit in the kitchen and see what Luke can rustle up for us. I know for a fact there are some Weston's sugar cookies and everything needed to make cocoa."

"Aww, Fran!" Liz said, as the ladies went into the kitchen. "How is she?"

Luke turned back to the kids. "OK with you? Cocoa? Christmas cookies?"

Rory shuffled a couple of books in her hands, not looking at him. "Are there marshmallows?"

"Do you think your mom would forget to buy marshmallows?"

"OK, then, sure."

"How about you, Jess? Sound good?"

"Yeah, but no marshmallows in mine."

"Your loss," Rory told him. "But more marshmallows for me. Come on."

They pushed by him to go to the kitchen, and Luke fumed that he'd missed out on the chance to find out what was really bothering Rory.

* * *

Later, after the cocoa, after the festival in the square, after a stop in the diner for lasagna, and a first round of gifts, Luke and Lorelai were finally alone in their room.

"Hey, Santa Baby, I've got a special gift for you," Lorelai said, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

"Aren't you too tired for that?" Luke asked, having already observed how fatigued she was earlier.

She chuckled. "For once, that's not what I'm talking about. I've really got a present for you."

"Oh," he said, feeling foolish. He turned around and she presented a gift bag to him with a flourish. "What's this?"

"Again, I really thought you'd comprehended how the whole present business worked. And notice, I put it in a bag, so we wouldn't have to suffer through the excruciating unwrapping saga."

He smiled and sat down on the bed to delve into the bag. He pushed past a forest of tissue paper and pulled out a new baseball cap.

"Blue," he said, shaking his head and pretending to glare at her.

"You bet, blue." She took it from him and fitted it on his head. "And boy, was I right, or what? Look at those baby blues of yours pop right out of your head." She leaned forward to kiss him.

"Thanks," he murmured to her, hoping for another kiss or two.

"I hope the baby gets your eyes."

"Well, I'm hoping he or she gets yours."

"I think we'll have a winner either way." Lorelai kissed his cheek. "There might be something else in the bag," she revealed.

"Really?" Luke put his hand into the bag again, and this time he pulled out another hat, identical to the one he was wearing – except it was made for a much, much smaller head. "I thought we agreed this wasn't going to happen."

"I made no such promise. In fact, I'm pretty sure I told you that there was no way I _wasn't_ doing this."

He turned the tiny hat around and around, marveling that anything could be that small, his heart melting. "What if it's a girl?"

"I sew a pink bow on the top. Don't worry, I have it all figured out."

He laughed. "Oh, I have no doubt about that." She leaned against him and they both fingered the petite cap.

Luke loved how this felt, the two of them together in every way, both dreaming about their baby. But at the same time, there was something eating away at him, something he needed to get out into the open.

He put his arm around her, squeezing her. "I feel like the only place the baby is real is while we're up here."

She sat up, startled. "What?"

"We don't talk about it anyplace else. The only time we acknowledge there is a baby is at night, when we're alone up here in our room. It's like the baby doesn't exist anywhere else."

"Well…we haven't really told anybody else," she said, a tad defensively.

"I'm not talking about out in the world, especially. I mean here, in our own house. We should be able to talk about the baby anywhere, without worrying about how Rory's going to take it."

She sat perfectly still for several minutes. "Yeah, you're right," she finally admitted. "But…" She sighed, fading off.

He hugged her shoulders again. "But?" he pressed, gently.

"I just…" She shook her head, considering. "I can't find a good way out of this. We can't _make_ Rory be happy about the baby coming. What, we tell her she has to put on a fake smile and pretend she's good with it? And then after the baby gets here she resents it more than ever?" Lorelai shook her head again, firmly, this time. "Somehow this has got to be her decision. She's got to make peace with what's happening to our family."

"I understand that, but her attitude, how she's treating you…it's not right, Lorelai. Instead of us tiptoeing around her, making sure she's not upset about it, she needs to step up to the plate. She needs to figure out how she's going to fit into the baby's life, not the other way around. She's old enough to understand that."

"Luke, please, hear what I'm saying. We need to give her more time to get used to this. Trying to force her into acceptance isn't going to accomplish anything in the long run."

"I watched you today, with Liz, while the two of you were discussing what it was like to be pregnant. You were relaxed, smiling, having the time of your life with her. It's been weeks since I've seen you like that. This should be a happy time for you – for me, too. And instead, we've got this heavy layer of doom over us, all because of Rory's attitude."

"I'm sorry you're unhappy," she said quietly.

"Only about Rory," he clarified. "I know we can't change her mind, but I certainly think we could make some rules about how she talks and behaves. I see how she hurts you every day, and I hate it."

"Look, I know Rory. You do, too. You know she has to work through problems and come up with her own solutions. She just needs some more time to work through the pros and cons to the end, that's all. The equation hasn't balanced out for her yet."

"It needs to balance soon," he insisted, but with kindness in his voice. He really didn't want to be the one causing her any more pain. He followed up his words with another hug and a kiss to her cheek.

Luke took the new cap off his head and then reached for the baby-sized one Lorelai was still fingering. "Where did you find this, anyway?"

"Believe it or not, at one of the sports stores in the mall. You're supposed to have something embroidered onto it. I had a hard time convincing them I wanted it plain."

He decided it was time for some teasing, after all of their serious talk. "I've been thinking more about that whole boy/girl question."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, and I think I've come up with a solution. We could just have twins. A boy _and_ a girl. Then nobody has to decide."

Lorelai snorted. "Uh, no."

"Why not? Seems like a pretty sensible answer to me."

"Look, it's hard enough carrying around one little person for nine months. No way am I agreeing to haul around twice that many." She grimaced. "Especially not during the summer."

He sighed theatrically. "You're sure I can't change your mind?"

"Unless you promise to hire some sort of rickshaw thing to haul me around all day. And get me a personal air conditioner that will continuously blow cold air on my face. _And_ access to a constant supply of ice pops."

"I could just carry you around all day."

"Can you say hernia?"

"Then I guess we'll just take what we get."

"That is the traditional way."

Luke put the hats on the bedside table and began to pull back the covers. "Let's get to bed. We've got a lot going on tomorrow."

"Santa!" Lorelai crowed, clapping her hands.

"Yes, and you know he won't stop by until you're sound asleep," he cajoled her, motioning for her to get in the bed.

Later, as they lay spooned together, he thought about Christmas, and gifts, and Santa, and he realized that the only thing he'd ask of the Jolly Old Elf was to change Rory back into her normal sweet self.

* * *

"Wow." Luke stopped dead at the threshold to the kitchen.

"What?" Lorelai asked, a bit frantically, looking around.

"Nothing. It looks great," he ventured, unsure about what to say about the crisply set table in their small kitchen, because it hadn't looked anything like that when he went upstairs to get changed. He walked over to the sink to wash his hands before seeing to the last minute details of their meal. "I just thought you said we weren't going to make this into a big deal."

"It's not a big deal." Lorelai shook open a linen napkin, refolded it, and placed it precisely beside a plate. "It just won't hurt to have things look nice."

"Well, then you've succeeded." He moved over to the stove.

"It was no problem to borrow some stuff from the Inn. And you know, the more at ease Mom and Dad feel, probably the better it will go."

"Sure," he said amiably, stirring the gravy.

Rory suddenly appeared at the doorway. "You're telling them tonight?"

Lorelai took a shaky breath. "Yes."

"Good," Rory said spitefully, before heading back to her room.

"Oh, God." Lorelai plopped down in one of the chairs, her face taking on that particular gray hue that Luke had gotten to know so well.

"Hey, now, take it easy." He quickly filled a glass with water and brought it over to her. "This is just dinner with your folks. Like you've been saying, they're tanned and rested and probably more inclined to listen. It'll be fine."

"It will _not_ be fine," Lorelai said darkly, hanging her head.

"You don't know that." Luke put one hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to sip at the water. "Come on, you're getting that urpy face, and that's not going to help anything."

She sipped, then cast a judgmental eye over him. "At least you look good." She made to roll down his cuffs, but he batted her away.

"I can't have my sleeves down while I'm still cooking. I promise, I'll look presentable when I sit down at the table."

"OK," she said dourly. She paused, tilted her head, then leaned forward, worriedly spanning her fingers between the white tapers on the table.

"That's it." Luke caught her hands. "We're getting dangerously close to bullet in the head territory here."

"Right, right," she muttered. "I'm going a little nuts."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." He pulled her up from the chair. "Go sit down in the living room and find something mindless to watch on TV. That Soup show you like or something. I'll be in as soon as I season the green beans."

She stopped at the doorway, turning to look back at him, needing his reassurance. "It's going to be OK?"

"It's going to be OK," he guaranteed her, smiling easily.

Once she was gone, he bent his face over the stovetop. "Please, please, please let this be OK," he mumbled fervently.

* * *

"Luke, I do believe I'll take another piece of that roast beef," Richard Gilmore decided, holding out his plate.

"Richard! That's your third serving!" Emily scolded.

"Emily, I might have to diet the rest of the month, but I'm not passing up a chance to savor another slice of that flavorful roast," Richard told her. He smiled as Luke expertly served up another portion. "I don't remember the last time I had roast beef this tender and juicy."

"Looks like we'll have plenty of leftovers. I'd be happy to send some home with you," Luke offered.

Richard rubbed his hands together in delight. "Roast beef sandwiches for lunch tomorrow!"

"When's that diet starting?" Emily wanted to know, but she looked fondly at her husband all the same.

"Is roast beef one of the menu items at the diner?" Richard wondered, picking up his knife.

"Usually it's the dinner special for Wednesday."

"Then I think we may just have to visit Stars Hollow on a Wednesday night," Richard said thoughtfully, before attacking the new portion on his plate.

"We'll feel like natives soon," Emily mused. "We were just remarking as we drove through town, how familiar it all seems now. I can't tell you how many people waved and smiled at us. I thought that odd young man – Kirk? – was going to chase the car down the street!"

Rory grinned. "That sounds like Kirk, all right."

"Is he stable? Mentally?" Emily wanted to know.

"No," Luke said darkly.

"I want to know why they call the woman who runs the dance studio 'miss,'" Richard asked, his mouth still full, earning him a castigating look from his wife. "From what I understand, that is not true in the least."

"I think that's exactly why," Luke offered.

Rory nodded. "That's what Mom told me, it's easier to just use 'Miss Patty' than it is to remember whatever her current last name might be."

Emily leaned towards Rory, intrigued. "There have been a lot of husbands?"

Luke snorted.

"Yeah," Rory confirmed. "Although she married one guy twice, so I don't know exactly how it all adds up, technically."

"Maybe that should be a story for another day," Richard suggested, giving Emily a look of warning.

Emily seemed disappointed, but sat back in her chair. "Anyway," she started, perking up again, "we've enjoyed getting to know your town, weird characters and all." She turned again towards Rory, and this time, smiled and patted her hand. "We love that we've gotten to see your world. I like knowing where your school is and what you're studying. I love being able to picture you sitting in your room, at your desk. It makes me feel like a real grandmother."

Lorelai suddenly inhaled loudly, and everyone turned to look at her.

She blinked, almost as if she'd been asleep, and was just now joining the party. "So, how was Bermuda?" she asked, leaning over her practically untouched plate of food.

Emily and Richard glanced worriedly at each other.

"It was lovely, Lorelai, which we already told you the other three times you've asked," Emily said, with a touch of acerbity. "Should I tell you again that the Brocks were there? We did some sightseeing together and Veronica and I had a grand time shopping. Do you want me to repeat the story about her tripping over the cat in the antique shop and spraining her ankle?"

"Um, no. Although that does sound like a knee-slapper." Lorelai shot a frantic look at Luke. "Sorry, I'm, uh, just a little…" She motioned at her head. "Sorry."

Richard put down his knife and fork and gave his daughter his full attention. "Lorelai, is everything all right? You certainly aren't yourself this evening."

"Ooh, then can I be Madonna? Because I've always sorta wanted to know…" She faded off as multiple annoyed faced looked her way. "I'm fine," she mumbled, looking down at her plate.

Luke reached over and took her hand. When she looked at him, he gave her a nod and a squeeze of courage.

She took another deep breath. "There is…There's a question I'd like to ask you. Mom. Mom and Dad. Something I'd like you to consider."

Richard settled back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. He looked prepared to weather whatever bad news was coming, or maybe he felt more like a banker ready to decide whether or not to cover a loan. "Go on," he ordered, in his deep, serious voice, already sounding resigned.

"OK." Lorelai was fidgeting in her seat, not looking directly at anyone, her face paling in the way that made the freckles over her nose more evident. "What I wanted to know…What I guess we all need to know…Although, now that I think about it, whatever you say right now might not be the way you feel in the future, but that's a start, and we should –" She gasped as Luke tugged on her hand, trying to stop the nervous stream-of-consciousness pouring out of her.

"Lorelai, for goodness sake! Just say it!" Emily ordered, out of patience.

She closed her eyes and offered up her plaintive question. "How would you feel about being grandparents again?"

There was one beat of silence.

"Are you pregnant?" Emily demanded.

In the quiet that followed, Rory hummed a note of triumph and reached for her glass of root beer.

"Yes," Lorelai whispered.

There was another second of stillness before Emily laughed, sounding just as triumphant as Rory had a moment earlier. She leaned forward slightly, zeroing in on Richard, who was sitting across the table from her. "That bracelet is _mine,_ Richard Gilmore."

Richard beamed back at his wife before picking up his water glass and saluting her with it. "I'll happily go pick it up tomorrow, my dear."

"What – what are you talking about?" Lorelai nervously wanted to know, still looking distraught.

"We had a bet," Emily announced proudly.

"Which your mother won, obviously."

"A bet?" Luke shook his head, not understanding how the conversation had turned.

"I bet that you'd get pregnant within the first year of your marriage."

"And I said you'd wait at least a year." Richard looked sorrowful. "I had the most amazing putter picked out if I won."

"Wait. You're not upset?" Rory cried out.

"No," Emily said, looking worriedly at Rory.

"You're not?" Lorelai wondered, looking staggered.

"No," Emily repeated, smiling at her daughter.

"Why _not_?" Rory asked petulantly.

"Yeah, why not?" Lorelai sounded as if she was trying to joke, but she looked even paler, if that was possible. Luke moved his chair closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. He glanced towards the trashcan, in case it was needed.

"Lorelai, you're in entirely different circumstances now," Richard began. "Before, you yourself were a child. Now you're an adult. You have a home. You have a good job. You've married a man who not only makes the best roast beef on the East Coast, he owns his own business. You're settled and stable. If the two of you decide it's time to add to your family, there's no reason we should oppose the idea."

Rory jumped up from the table, her chair screeching as it was forcefully pushed back. "Are you _nuts_?" she shouted at her grandparents, ready to turn and run.

Emily grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Rory, remember what I just said about finally feeling like your grandmother, and what a joy it's been for me. All of the years that went by with you not being a bigger part of my life – Well, it was easier to pretend I didn't know what I was missing. But now I _do_ know, and I regret, so deeply, everything that I missed with you. Hopefully this brother or sister of yours is going to be a second chance for us."

"Yeah, have fun with this kid," Rory said scathingly. She shook her hand loose and stalked off to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Before anyone had a chance to really react to that, Lorelai started to cry. "You're really OK with this?" she asked her parents, sniffling.

"Of course," Richard assured her.

At that, Lorelai melted into a mess of heaving sobs. Luke left his chair to go to her. He pulled her against him as much as he could in an attempt to comfort her, although he really wasn't sure why she was crying.

Richard and Emily left their seats too, and came to join them, neither of them looking confident about what to do.

"Lorelai, there's no reason to cry, my dear. This is good news," Richard tried, patting her shoulder.

'Very good news," Emily added.

Lorelai sobbed harder and burrowed further into Luke's stomach.

"Oh, it's the _hormones_ ," Emily all at once surmised. "I remember those. She's all right, she just can't help it," she explained to the men. She too put a kind hand on Lorelai's back, rubbing lightly.

"Rory?" Richard asked Luke.

Luke shook his head. "She really hates the whole idea of the baby coming." He glanced down at his tearful wife. "It's destroying Lorelai."

Lorelai tried to take a breath, to say something, but sobbed instead.

"I tried to kill Hope once," Emily reminisced, still rubbing Lorelai's back.

"You did?" That news was enough to temporarily halt the next sob.

"Oh yes. I collected every pillow I could find and hid them behind the living room couch. I was then going to lure Hope back there. I'm not sure if I was going to smother her or hide her underneath them, but I'm sure it was something nefarious."

Lorelai pulled away from Luke and turned to smile tremulously at her mother. Emily smiled back, moving her hand to Lorelai's face, where she gently wiped away a few tears.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Richard wanted to know, inclining his head towards Rory's room.

"We'd be grateful if you can," Luke said. "We're pretty much at the end of our rope."

"Maybe some more weekends in Hartford. Maybe she needs some time to herself, and some extra assurance that she'll always be our number one granddaughter," Richard speculated.

Seeing that Lorelai had calmed, Emily moved over to Richard. "You're going to be a grandfather again," she rather playfully told him.

"And you, a grandmother. Although I can scarcely believe you're old enough," Richard declared grandly. "You must have been a child bride." He took one of Emily's hands and spun her around.

"Richard!" she laughed.

He began to hum and took Emily into his arms. They slowly started to dance around the small open space in the kitchen.

Luke plopped back down in his chair, worn out by the turn of events. Lorelai laid her head against his shoulder, and they both watched her parents waltz in front of the refrigerator.

"What did you put in the pot roast?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"Nothing that exotic. Just some of those little pepperoncini things you like for a little kick in the gravy."

"Then there must be a rabbit hole close by, because babe, we have stumbled into Bizarro Land."

Luke watched a beaming Richard spin Emily around again, while a cold draft crept down the hall from Rory's room and made him shiver. He sighed, and leaned over to kiss the side of her head. "I think you're right," he sadly agreed.


	3. The Second Trimester

Closing the diner on this night in early February had been a solo endeavor, which meant that Luke got home later than what he preferred. As soon as he walked through the front door he saw Lorelai on the couch, her long legs angled across the cushions. She seemed pensive, one hand busy twisting a length of hair, the other holding a pillow against her rounded middle. Much to his surprise, the house was quiet, except for some faint music coming from Rory's room.

He hung up his coat and hat, removed his shoes, then padded across the space to join her. He lifted her legs and sat down with her feet in his lap, immediately beginning to rub them. This act had become their new nightly routine because she was a pregnant lady who spent too much time on her feet and still thought she could wear high heels, and he was the doting husband who'd do anything for his wife, the impractical pregnant lady.

Lorelai moaned happily, wiggling her feet against him.

"Did you eat?"

She sighed. "Yeah, with Sookie, remember?"

"Oh, right! So how was the big reveal?" He smiled, knowing how much she'd been looking forward to sharing the pregnancy news with her best friend.

Lorelai sighed again, in a way that was definitely pensive.

Taken aback, Luke stopped the foot rub. "She wasn't happy?"

"Oh, she's happy for us. She's just sad for her." Lorelai shuffled her feet, reminding him of his job.

"How so?" he wondered, pressing a thumb into her arch.

"Well, you remember, right, what it's like when it seems like everybody else in the world is getting it all, and you're in a sad little corner by yourself, trying to figure out what you're doing wrong?"

Luke didn't have to search too far back in his memory. "Yeah, I seem to recall some years like that."

Lorelai nodded. "That's Sookie right now. She hasn't found her Luke yet. She's living in a crappy apartment because she's barely making a living wage. She doesn't even get to try out her own recipes at the Inn very often. Mind you, I think she's on the cusp of all sorts of amazing things going her way – but right now she's alone and depressed. Meanwhile, here I am, with the best husband ever, a decent house, and a job with a promotion in the wings. And to sprinkle more salt in the wound, I show up pregnant."

"I can't believe she couldn't put her own insecurities aside and be happy for you," Luke snapped, disappointed in Sookie.

"Oh, she did. She was. Don't be hard on her, Luke. She's thrilled for us; she's thrilled she gets to be an auntie again. She's already talking about researching homemade baby food recipes. It was just sort of bittersweet news for her, that's all, and I understand. It made me feel guilty more than anything, I guess."

"Guilty?"

"Because I've got so much. Because I'm so lucky. And maybe I shouldn't go around gloating to my friends, expecting them to automatically be my cheerleaders."

"I don't think you gloat."

Lorelai grinned. "Hello, do you know me or not?"

He grinned back and switched to her other foot. "You don't gloat much," he amended.

She glanced back over her shoulder. "I did tell her about our Rory situation."

"Good," Luke said. "You need somebody else to talk to about it. What'd she say?"

"She was shocked, of course. Nobody believes _their_ sweet Rory can act like this. Sookie said maybe she can plan an afternoon out with her. Maybe telling her some stories about her own brothers and sisters would put things in perspective for her."

"Did she get along with her brothers and sisters?"

"No," Lorelai said, smiling again.

"Then maybe not the best solution."

Lorelai leaned back, closing her eyes, enjoying the foot rub to the hilt. "Oh hey, my mom called today."

"Anything specific?"

"Just to check on me, I guess. I mentioned I was starting to show and now she wants to take me shopping for maternity clothes."

Luke snorted. "Somehow I can't see that working out." Lorelai was surprisingly silent and he looked at her sharply. "You said yes?"

"I said…maybe." She shrugged. "She's been alarmingly nice since she found out about the baby. Maybe a shopping trip where I want to buy jeans and t-shirts and she wants to buy plaid jumpers with big loopy bows at the neck – to be accessorized, of course, with a nice string of pearls – is just what we need to get us back to normal."

"Maybe it is," he laughed.

The pensive look returned to Lorelai's face. "She's just been so happy about the baby coming, and that's a nice change of pace for us. It's been a long, long time since I've done _anything_ that's made my parents happy. I guess I don't mind trying to keep that feeling going for a little while longer."

"No," Luke said gently. "There's nothing wrong with that at all." He saw that Lorelai was suddenly blinking back tears, so he changed tactics. "You know, I think you'd probably rock a nice jumper with a big bow on it."

"Especially if it was plaid, right?"

"Absolutely." He gave a finishing pat to her feet and then moved her legs so he could stand up. "I'm going to the kitchen to find something to eat. You're sure you don't want anything?"

She raised her arms, signaling for him to help her up. "I'll come with you, just to keep you company. And maybe to help you eat up some leftovers."

" _Are_ there any leftovers?"

"We won't know unless we look, will we?" she said briskly. "It'd be a shame if there's nothing and we'd have to order a pizza."

"We're not ordering a pizza," he protested.

Big Pete arrived with a half-tomato, half pepperoni and a double order of garlic knots twenty minutes later.

* * *

"Whose idea was this, anyway?" Lorelai complained, struggling to hold open the front door.

"Yours," Luke grumbled, trying to maneuver the large cardboard box in his arms past Lorelai, out the door, and onto the front porch.

"Well, it was a terrible idea," she stated.

"I agree," he said. "Except it has to be done."

"Yeah," she sighed forlornly.

Luke found an empty spot on the porch and added the box to the dozens of others already there. "Let's take a break," he suggested, taking a seat on the steps. He patted the spot beside him.

"Ugh, cold," Lorelai complained, as her bottom landed on the frosty boards.

"Well, it is February," Luke observed dryly.

"You know, this would go twice as fast if you'd just let me carry some of the boxes," she pointed out.

"That's not happening," he insisted.

"What's not happening?" Babette wanted to know, suddenly appearing in front of them. "What are you kids doing, anyway?"

"Cleaning out the extra room upstairs," Lorelai told her. "Hi, Babette!"

"Hi, Doll. What'cha doing that for?"

"Just seemed like it was time." Lorelai grinned at her nosy neighbor.

"You're getting rid of all that junk the Gilberts left up there?" Babette looked at the pile of boxes and other bits and pieces collected on the porch. "Geez Louise, that's gotta be a job and a half. Those people were practically what you call hoarders, I think."

"Hoarders and then some," Luke agreed.

"Why'd you decide to tackle this today?" Babette wondered.

"Time for the town garage sale," Lorelai explained. "They started accepting donations this week."

"And why they have it in the middle of February is beyond me," Luke said, exasperation evident in his voice.

Babette shrugged. "Yeah, I've wondered that too. Guess it's just another one of those Stars Hollow quirks. Or maybe it was the only time during the year Taylor didn't have a festival scheduled for the weekend."

Lorelai snickered in agreement. "Wouldn't surprise me," Luke said.

Babette nodded absently, still looking at the collection of things on the porch. "So why's Luke not letting you carry anything?"

Both Luke and Lorelai startled, surprised to learn that Babette had been listening to their bickering for longer than they realized.

She continued. "Luke doesn't want you carrying any boxes, and you're cleaning out the extra room in the middle of February." She turned and grinned widely at Lorelai. "Stand up, sugar. Let's see what you're hiding."

"I'm not – Babette!" Lorelai blustered.

"Oh yes you are, missy!" She cackled in delight. "You're having a baby, ain't you?"

Lorelai looked over at Luke, resigned, then turned back to Babette, a smile struggling onto her face. "Yeah, we are."

"I knew it! Oh my God, wait 'til I tell Morey!"

"No, Babette –!" Luke sprang off the steps, ready to stop her.

Instead, Lorelai grabbed his arm, halting him. "Luke, it's fine." She stood up, one hand patting her stomach. "It's going to become increasingly obvious, and our families already know. Go ahead, Babette, spread the word."

"Consider it spread, sugar." She nodded, then pointed at them. "You just sit back down and chill out for a minute or two. I'm gonna go rally the troops." She practically sprinted back to her house.

"Troops?" Luke wondered.

"The gnomes? Who knows?" Lorelai shrugged. "Come on, though, I guess we should go fill up some more boxes."

A few minutes later, they heard someone calling up the stairs. "OK if I come up?"

Luke popped out of the spare room and looked over the railing, surprised to see Morey standing at the foot of the stairs. "Sure, come on," he answered, although he wondered why Babette's shy husband was in their house.

When he entered, the amount of items still piled in the room stopped Morey in his tracks, but he soon managed to focus on Lorelai. "I hear congratulations are in order."

Lorelai's smile lit up her face. "Thanks, Morey." She indicated the floor-to-ceiling stack of treasures. "Want to see if you can find something valuable?"

He snorted. "The last thing we need in our house is more tchotchkes. Nope, I'm here to help. Got a box for me to carry down?"

"Oh, Morey, you don't have to do that!" Lorelai protested.

"Yeah, we can handle it," Luke added, never predisposed to accept help.

"I've got my orders," he said calmly. "And there's nothing you can say that supersedes what Babs told me to do. That one ready?" he asked, pointing to a box in a relatively clear part of the room.

"Then, sure. Thanks!" Lorelai capitulated easily.

"More's coming," he added cryptically, leaving the room with the box in his arms.

Luke looked over at Lorelai, frowning. " _More's coming?_ What's that mean?"

"More…stuff?" Lorelai laughed. "Maybe they're moving the garage sale to our front yard for convenience? I have no idea!"

 _More_ soon became apparent. First Kirk showed up to help, then Andrew arrived in the bookstore's van to ferry boxes, and five minutes later Miss Patty came with a clipboard and a selection of Weston's doughnuts. Taylor Doose brought his Scout troop and organized a fireman's brigade from the bottom of the steps to the front door. Sookie rushed in with a tray of sandwiches and took over the kitchen, offering coffee and hot chocolate to the volunteer work force.

The commotion finally pulled Rory from her room. "What's going on?" she asked crankily, standing in the upstairs hallway.

Babette gave her an exuberant hug. "We're getting the room cleared out for your new brother or sister!"

Rory pulled away, making a face. "There's too much noise. I'm going to Lane's," she stated.

"No you don't, young lady!" Babette pulled her back. "You've got two long legs, two strong arms, and more energy than the rest of us combined. You go get your shoes on and get back up here to help, pronto. Shame on you, not pitching in to help your mom and Luke. You scoot, now!"

Rory sniffed disdainfully, looking annoyed. But "Fine," she said, aggravated. She went down the stairs, presumably to put on her shoes and join in.

Lorelai looked stunned. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Do what?" Babette looked over at Lorelai, then turned her head back to where Rory had been standing. "Oh, is Rory giving you problems?"

"And then some," Luke said grimly, slapping some tape over a full box.

Babette laughed. "I wondered when that was finally gonna happen."

"What?"

"The attitude. You know, that pre-teen brattiness. You've been awful lucky so far, having such an angel of a little girl. You knew that wasn't gonna last, right?"

"It wasn't?" Lorelai said sadly, shaking her head.

"Nah. I think I drove my sainted mother to drink when I was that age." She zeroed in on Lorelai. "How about you when you were twelve? Perfect kid?"

Lorelai scoffed. "I believe my mother once referred to me as 'demon spawn.'"

"Well, there ya go." Babette chuckled. "You two have always been peas in a pod, you know."

Luke suddenly remembered his sister diving under her bed to hide rather than getting her hair cut, and his dad resorting to pulling her out bodily once his patience had been exhausted. "You think that's what this is?" he questioned Babette.

"Most likely. Or could be she's scared she's never gonna have a life once the new baby gets here, 'cause she's gonna be babysittin' forever."

"Huh," Lorelai said, looking at Luke. He shrugged and nodded back at her, liking the idea that maybe there was hope for their Rory situation after all.

* * *

On the Monday after the Great Hoarding Box-Up, as Lorelai now referred to it, Luke happened to glance out of the diner's window while bussing a table and saw Ed Tallman walking down the street. Immediately he dashed to the door.

"Ed!" he yelled down the street. When Ed turned around, Luke waved, then motioned at the diner. "Got time for a cup of coffee on me?"

"Well, when you put it that way!" Ed laughed and began to head back to the diner.

Luke held open the door. "Have a seat wherever you want. As you can see, we're not real busy right now."

"And yet you're giving away free coffee." Ed took a seat at the counter while Luke quickly poured him a mug.

"How have you been?" Luke asked, putting the cup in front of him.

"Not too shabby." Ed blew on the coffee, then took a sip. "How about yourself? How's Lorelai? Is she still putting up with you?"

Luke rocked back on his heels, then looked down at the floor. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What'd you do?" Ed looked at him sharply. "I'll tan your hide if you've done something stupid."

"Hopefully not too stupid." Luke grinned. "But I guess we'll find that out in another five months or so." He took a deep breath, suddenly nervous to tell Ed his big news. "It looks like…Lorelai and I…Well, the thing is, I'm going to be a dad. Sometime in August, most likely."

"Why, Luke!" Ed put down the mug of coffee. "That's just…that's…" Abruptly he reached for Luke's hand, clasping it and then putting his other one on top. "That's wonderful news, son. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Ed."

"Lorelai's OK?"

Luke sighed. "Sometimes she's great, other times she's in the bathroom for half the day."

Ed chuckled. "That sounds about right."

"But the doctor says everything's good so far, everything's on track."

"Always reassuring to hear that." Ed sat back, looking pleased. "You had a good example growing up, Luke. Just follow your dad's lead and you'll do just fine."

Luke felt a familiar lump materialize in his throat, almost making him wish he also had a cup of coffee to swallow it away. "That's what I'm hoping, that some of him rubbed off on me."

"If not, you'll figure it out just fine on your own." Ed graced him with a look of understanding. "I tell you, though, there's nothing better than the first time your own child smiles back at you. Of course, there's nothing more frustrating than dealing with them too, sometimes."

Luke sighed. "Yeah, we've been experiencing that recently."

Ed's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Rory?"

Before Luke could answer, the diner's phone rang. "Anybody want to get that?" Luke yelled back towards the kitchen. When no one answered, and the phone continued to ring, he started towards it. "Guess I'll get it," he remarked to Ed.

"Luke's," he said into the receiver, his normal brief and to-the-point greeting.

There was a slight pause. " _Is_ this Luke?" the caller asked.

"You got him."

"Luke, hi. This is Chris. Chris Hayden."

The phone nearly slipped out of his hand. "Um, hi," he finally managed to say in response.

"Listen, I'm looking for Lorelai."

"Well, she's not here," he said, his eyes rolling involuntarily.

"Where is she then?" Chris asked peevishly. "I've tried the Inn, I've tried the house."

Luke hated to tell him out of sheer pettiness, but yet he knew there was no reason not to give out the information. "She's in Bridgeport today, at some sort of employee relations seminar."

"Oh," Chris said, disappointed. "She's back tonight?"

"Yeah." Luke hesitated. "Should I have her call you or something?"

Silence was the reply, but somehow the silence felt weighted, as if a great deal was not being said.

"Chris?" Luke finally prodded.

"I know it's stupid to talk to _you_ about this," Chris said slowly.

"Talk about what?"

"About the pregnancy. See, knowing that Lorelai is pregnant again – it's really a difficult thing for me to deal with."

"There's nothing _you_ have to deal with. It has nothing to do with you," Luke said bluntly.

"But it feels like it should. It feels like we still had all of this unfinished business, and now this baby has derailed everything."

"What _the hell_ are you talking about? Unfinished business? You had _years_ to settle everything, but you stayed away and let the girls take care of themselves. Your time's passed, buddy. I think Lorelai's made that very clear."

"Yeah, she has, but…"

"But what?"

"I guess I just always thought...You know, that in the future…there'd _be_ a future."

"Oh, for God's sake," Luke muttered, ready to explode. "Quit bellyaching about something that didn't happen and step up and be a father to your daughter!"

"Wait – you _want_ Rory to come live with me?"

"No! Of course I don't want Rory to live with you! What I want is for you to help her! Show her that you're in her corner, make sure she knows you're always going to be there for her, even if you don't always understand her. Right now you could be a hero to her, do you even _get_ that? Christ, you could be a hero to us too, for that matter. Just once, look beyond yourself and what _you_ want and take care of _her!_ Man, this is your chance and you're blowing it, big time."

There was another spell of silence before Chris spoke. "You think that's what Rory wants?"

"For you to be a father to her? Of course she does. Think about it. Didn't you want your dad to spend time with you?"

Chris gave an abrupt, bitter chuckle. "Not particularly, no."

Luke suddenly remembered the less than flattering picture Lorelai had sketched of Christopher's father. "Well, then, step up and be the dad you wish you had."

Chris considered Luke's words for a moment. "Lorelai would be on board with this?"

Luke scoffed. "I don't presume to speak for Lorelai. You'd need to discuss it with her. I'm just giving you my opinion."

"Well, OK." Chris blew out a breath. "I guess I'll call later tonight and talk to her."

"Do that." Luke then had another thought. "A word of advice, though. Make sure it's about Rory, not Lorelai. Trust me, both of them will be able to tell if it's not."

"Yeah, good point." Christopher suddenly laughed. "I guess talking to you about this wasn't so stupid after all."

"That remains to be seen," Luke said grimly, and hung up the phone.

When he turned around, he saw Ed regarding him speculatively from over the rim of the coffee mug.

"Guess that was one of those pesky telephone salesmen, huh?" Ed asked mildly.

"Something like that," Luke sighed, wishing he'd remembered Ed was sitting three feet away from the phone on the wall before he'd unloaded on Christopher.

"Well, sounds like you handled him just fine." He took another sip of coffee before he looked up and smiled at Luke. "I think Lorelai would be proud of how you handled it."

"I hope so." Luke leaned his elbows on the counter and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes.

"You were saying that Rory's giving you some trouble?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Luke confirmed, not wanting to go into too much detail.

"Then shipping her off to spread the misery around is a good idea."

Luke shook his head, not understanding. "What?"

"That's what we did, back when Carol was at that God-awful smart mouth stage. Whenever it seemed like her mom or I were about to snap and kill her, we'd ship her off to stay with Maisie's girls for a while. Let them all be crabby together."

A grin broke over Luke's face as the fond memory came to him of pushing Carol into a snowbank after she'd sassed him one time too many. "That work?" he wanted to know.

"It bought us some time. Eventually it passes."

"That's what I hear. Not sure Liz ever grew out of it, though."

"She did all right, now." Ed pointed at him. "Still, let's hope this new little one is a boy. Look how much easier they are to raise."

Luke laughed, the bad mood brought on by Christopher's call dissipating. "A boy would be fine with me, just to see if you're right."

Ed started to get down from the stool, taking one last gulp of coffee. "Tell you what, bring Rory out to the farm some time. I'm sure Clinton would love a good romp around the place with her. Or come spend some time in the wood shop together." He winked. "Mind you, I said wood _shop_ , not the woodshed."

"Thanks, Ed. I might take you up on that."

Ed reached across the counter for another handshake. "Again, Luke, congratulations. This news has made my day. Be sure and give my best regards to Lorelai."

"Will do." Luke watched his dad's friend – _his_ friend too, he realized – leave the diner, feeling a quite a bit better about life in general, and Rory in particular.

* * *

They were in the midst of the nightly foot-rubbing routine when the phone rang. Lorelai stretched her arm out behind her, striving to reach the receiver without leaving her spot on the couch, practically standing on her head by the time her fingers connected with the machine.

"For crying out loud," Luke muttered, holding her legs so she wouldn't tumble off. "Would you be careful?"

"Got it!" she announced triumphantly. "Hello!" she trilled into the phone, smiling at Luke.

She sat up straight as the smile left her mouth. "Chris. Hi." She rolled her eyes at Luke, very similar to his response earlier in the day.

"I'm OK," she said tentatively, after listening to him for a minute. "I'm past the first few icky months, so it's getting better." She paused again. "Um, early August, probably. Or maybe late July." She listened, then chuckled. "Yeah, if you could have my own personal ice cream truck delivered to me sometime in June, that would be perfect. Remember how awful the August was when I was pregnant with Rory? Can you imagine how miserable I'm going to be this time?" She smiled, almost fondly, and the familiar pain of jealousy stabbed at Luke.

"No, I'm perfectly OK with a visit," Lorelai continued on with the conversation. "You're sure you're up to it?" She listened, then nodded at Luke. "Either this weekend or the next should be fine. Tell you what, why don't I pass the phone on to Rory and you guys can hash out the details?" She got up from the couch with the cordless phone and headed to Rory's room.

Luke could hear her murmuring an explanation to Rory, and then she came back to join him.

"Well, what do you know? He actually called," she commented to Luke, her eyes held wide open in pretended shock.

"I guess he gets credit for that, at least," Luke said grudgingly.

"You get the credit, babe." She leaned over and kissed him, one of her hands tenderly rubbing his back. "You're the one who put the idea in his mind and convinced him he could do it."

"More like I beat him over the head with it," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai gave a small laugh. "Whatever you want to call it, it worked."

Luke wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. "I just hope it helps."

* * *

Help it did, or at least it looked that way. In the days leading up to her weekend with Chris, Rory changed back into a reasonable facsimile of her old self. She went to the bookstore and bought maps and a guidebook, planning out the best route and what to do when she got there. She packed, and then repacked. She worked ahead as much as she could with her assignments, wanting plenty of free time.

Best of all, she at least tolerated baby news. Lorelai chanced showing her the ultrasound picture, and even though she barely glanced at it and sniffed, "Looks like one of those inkblot tests," at least she didn't go running off to her room. It had gotten to the point where even that counted as a win.

The plan was that they would meet halfway to drop Rory off to Chris. She sat between them in the truck, double-checking the map, even occasionally leaning past Luke to see the odometer, making sure they hadn't missed the turn-off.

When they pulled into the designated shopping center, Lorelai pointed at Chris's car already parked there. She looked over at Luke, her eyebrows raised, and he nodded, understanding her unspoken message. _So far, so good._

Lorelai got out of the truck first, anxious to stretch her legs. She waved and walked over to meet Chris at his car.

Luke waited beside the truck for Rory to hop out. She reached back in to snag her book bag, but suddenly stopped, breathing shakily.

"Hey, everything OK?" Luke asked kindly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah," she said faintly, still stopped in mid-grab.

He tried to put more reassurance into his voice. "You know, don't you, if you get there and it's not the way thought it would be, you can call us. We'll drive right back and get you. And I mean at any time."

Rory took a deep breath. "Yeah, I know." She gave herself a shake, picked up the bag, and turned to face him. "It's just feels…a little weird. To be going with him."

"Sure," Luke agreed.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want to."

"Totally understand."

She settled the pack against her shoulders, holding onto the straps. "And it's just an overnight, basically," she added, sounding as if she was convincing herself.

"Right, we'll see you tomorrow night in Hartford." Christopher was going to go see his mother after dropping Rory off at the Gilmore's.

"So it's fine," she said staunchly.

Luke nodded and went to the back of the truck to pull out her suitcase. Rory shut the truck's door and they began to walk over to where Chris and Lorelai were chatting, but before they reached them, Rory suddenly turned and threw her arms around him.

"Rory?" He hugged her tightly, but he wasn't sure what was behind her unexpected show of affection.

She looked up at him, her eyes damp. She opened her mouth, tried to say something, but after a few seconds she shook her head, gave him another hug, and then trudged resolutely over to her father.

"Hey, kiddo!" Chris greeted her. He opened the truck of his car so Luke could deposit Rory's suitcase there.

Rory swallowed hard before cautiously leaning against Lorelai.

"Have fun, sweetie!" Lorelai told her, giving her a hug and a kiss to the top of her head. "I'll miss you, but I can't wait to hear what adventures you have with your dad!" She smiled, determined to be cheerful.

Rory bent her head and snuggled against her mother for a long moment. "Bye, Mom," she said quietly, and then moved to get into Christopher's car.

* * *

Their drive home was nothing like Luke thought it might be. He'd worried that Lorelai would be anxious and depressed, having turned Rory over to Chris for basically the first time. But instead, she was upbeat. She turned the radio up and sang along to nearly every song, bouncing in her seat, making him laugh at her theatrics. They talked about anything they wanted, and especially about the baby. They stopped for lunch at a Chili's, relaxed and content, taking their time as they picked apart their Awesome Blossom.

After lunch, they walked into a Babies R Us that shared the same parking lot as the restaurant. They bought a package of light blankets that Lorelai said were 'receiving blankets' with puppies and kittens printed on them, something called 'sock rattles,' a package of sleepers that could be worn by boys or girls, as well as a bouncy seat. And it was Lorelai who laughingly pushed _him_ to the checkout lane, insisting they shouldn't buy anything else for the time being.

When they got home, Luke put his arms around her waist, swaying them back and forth. "Since it seems like you feel pretty good –"

"So do you," she purred back to him.

"– and I arranged to take the whole day off, what do you say we go over to Sniffy's for dinner?"

"Yes!" She clapped her hands.

"We haven't really celebrated the baby yet," he pointed out.

"And I can't think of a better place to celebrate than Sniffy's," she said approvingly.

"So why don't you go put on the cute dress your mom bought you, the one with the bow at the neck…"

"As long as you wear the sweater vest she bought for you, that's fine with me."

Luke made a face. "On second thought, wear whatever you want."

"You mean, wear whatever I can still fit into."

"It doesn't matter what you wear, you'll always be the most beautiful woman in the room."

"Wow, somebody is certainly going overboard with his praise. Possibly because he likes the newly expanded assets?" She waved a hand at her chest.

"New, old…I love every inch of you. Always will," he whispered to her, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

"And I love every inch of you too," she responded. A split second later she startled and briefly slapped a hand over her mouth before bursting into laughter. "Holy cow, that was _so_ dirty! And I wasn't even trying!"

Luke laughed too, shaking his head. "Go get ready. I'll call and make sure they have a table for us."

"I predict they can squeeze us in," Lorelai said as she started up the stairs. "Even if they were booked solid, I bet Maisie would make Buddy bring in an extra table for her Lucas."

"Stop," he said, looking for the phone.

"I will not." Now upstairs, she leaned over the railing to smile down at him. "I think it's nice how much affection they have for you. I think everyone should adore you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered, pretending not to care. But inside his chest, his heart was glowing from the sure knowledge that he was loved.

* * *

"Hey, you two! About time you got here!" Maisie flapped a stack of menus at the assigned hostess, shooing her away. Somehow she managed to get an arm around each of them, hugging them both at the same time, despite the relatively short length of said arms. "Buddy!" she hollered towards the kitchen.

"You come right on over here," she said, leading them to a table in a more secluded corner. "Lorelai, you look just as pretty as you did on your wedding day."

"Thanks, Maisie," Lorelai beamed back at the petite proprietress. She'd settled on wearing a short black skirt and a filmy sort of top that hovered lightly over her hips. Without knowing Lorelai's usual preferences in clothing, her choices for tonight wouldn't have caused a second glance.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Danes!" Buddy appeared, carrying an ice bucket and a long-necked green bottle. "Welcome!"

At the sight of the bottle, Luke and Lorelai exchanged a worried look. "I'm not sure we're in the mood for champagne," Luke began, trying to extricate them from the proffered alcohol.

"Oh, it's all right. This you can have," Buddy said confidently. He pulled the bottle out far enough so that Luke could see the label.

"Sparkling cider," Luke said, wincing.

"Someone spilled the beans," Lorelai said grimly.

"We may have heard rumors," Maisie said, grinning.

"We're so sorry," Lorelai began, sounding distraught. "We wanted to be able to tell you in person."

"And tonight's the first night we've felt like going out," Luke tried to explain.

"No apology needed, missy." Unbidden, Maisie put her hand on Lorelai's stomach, patting it tenderly. "We're just tickled pink for you."

"We are indeed." Buddy looped an arm around Luke's shoulders in a paternal fashion. "Welcome to fatherhood, Luke. Enjoy the ride – it gets wild from here on!"

"Sit, sit," Maisie insisted. "Get off your feet whenever you can," she instructed Lorelai.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Lorelai slid into the banquette.

"We heard that Rory's been leading you on a merry chase," Maisie added, looking sympathetic.

"Also true," Luke sighed.

"Where is she tonight?" Maisie wondered.

"With her father for the weekend," Lorelai said.

"Really?" Maisie looked surprised. "Well, that's probably for the best. Give her somebody else to bedevil. Some new perspectives. Might be just what she needs."

 _Might be just what_ _ **we**_ _need_ , Luke thought to himself.

"Let's get you something to eat," Buddy suggested.

Maisie bent down to peer at Lorelai. "Have you got any cravings? Or anything that sends you running to the bathroom? We'll want to avoid that."

"Yes, please!" Lorelai was once again laughing. "But tonight, everything sounds good, so go ahead, surprise me!"

"You got it, toots!" Maisie turned to Buddy, beginning to instruct him as they walked towards the kitchen. "I figured we'd do the…"

"With a soup," he agreed.

"Not the salad?" Maisie questioned.

"Not if we do the fried," Buddy said, and Maisie nodded as if it all made perfect sense.

"They're the best," Lorelai said wistfully, watching them walk away.

"Some of the best, anyway," Luke agreed, reaching across the table to take her hand.

The hostess appeared beside them with a basket of warm bread. "Congratulations," she said, and proceeded to pour them each a glass of the sparkling nonalcoholic beverage.

* * *

They walked up the steps to the porch, still basking in the afterglow of their celebration at Sniffy's. It had been a charmed night. The food was excellent, as always, and Maisie and Buddy were their usual unrepentant selves. They'd even convinced Luke to let Lorelai lead him to the dance floor, and much to his surprise, that had been the highlight of the night, even more so than the toasts to the baby made by everyone in attendance.

Apparently Lorelai felt the same way, because she pressed herself against him from behind, her arms around his waist, still humming and moving slightly to the music they'd danced to. To say she was distracting him from unlocking the door was putting it mildly.

Finally he concentrated enough to get the key to turn and they entered the darkened house. Lorelai kept her arms around him. She was wearing heels high enough to allow her to kiss his neck, with only a slight forward tilt of her head.

"I feel _great_ ," she murmured.

"I'm glad." He patted her hands, which were still clasped in front of him.

"I don't think you understand. I feel _really_ great." Her hands slid downwards, with purposeful intent.

A moan nearly strangled him. "God… _Lorelai_ ," he managed to choke out, as she caressed him with an even firmer touch.

"Mmm, what was I saying earlier, about every inch of you?" Her voice was sultry, her breath hot and moist on his neck.

"Sweetheart, are you –" He had to stop talking when his eyes nearly rolled back in his head from the pleasure. He swallowed hard, trying to find some way back to normal speech. "You're sure you feel like doing this?"

He almost moaned again, this time from disappointment, when she released her hold on him. She turned him around to face her, entwining her arms around his neck. He put his hands flat on the small of her back and pressed her tight against him, desperate for that intimate connection with her to continue.

"I know this past month or so has been a crazy rollercoaster ride," Lorelai said. "The baby's interrupted our sexy times more often than I can count, either because I got queasy or had to jump up and go pee right in the middle of things." She brought her hands down, slowly massaging his back as she went, moving past his belt and finally molding her palms over his ass. She pressed harder, insuring that their bodies were as joined as they could be, save for the few flimsy layers of clothing serving as barriers. "But tonight I feel _amazing_ ," she continued, somewhat breathlessly. " _You_ feel amazing. And I need my amazing husband to do absolutely amazing things to me."

Luke kissed her, granting permission for his mouth and tongue and lips to give her a preview of what some of those amazing things were going to be. She kissed him back with the same level of desire, ramping up his need to get her under him immediately, if not sooner. He nudged her blindly towards the stairs.

She tore her mouth away from his for a brief second. "The house is ours. We can stay right here."

"Nope." He hated to stop the kissing, but he needed to talk…and maybe take in a deep breath of air, too, now that he thought about it. "Too many windows."

"It's dark," Lorelai observed, trying to persuade him through touch as well as with her words. "Nobody can see."

"No, I want you upstairs." He skillfully kneaded her through her silky blouse, making her gasp and throw back her head. "I need you on the bed, so I can do all of those amazing things you want me to do."

"OK, you've convinced me." She took his hand and rushed towards the stairs.

She was a tread or two ahead of him on the steps, her delectable bottom in front of his eyes. Without thought he slipped his free under up under her skirt, squeezing and teasing.

The unexpected rush of sensations made her feet tangle. Instantly Luke caught her and held her steady.

"Just…just let me get upstairs, OK, lover?" she said, breathing hard.

"Sorry." He buried his face in her hair and curved his hand over the small rounded part of her middle. "That was stupid."

"No, no, it's fine. Don't think about that." She pulled him up the remaining stairs, then turned to meet him at the top, immediately starting to kiss him again. "Think about this instead."

He walked her backwards down the hall and into their room. They kicked off shoes before Luke grabbed the hem of her blouse and pulled it off over her head. He quickly released her bra.

"You're right. I do like the newly expanded assets." He bent his head, giving her something to moan about.

A few minutes later, having achieved the flat surface of the bed, he took the time to gaze at her body. "Dear God, you are beautiful," he murmured, nearly overcome by his feelings for her. "So damn beautiful."

"Stop gawking," she complained, writhing with impatience. "Do those amazing things you promised me."

"Yes ma'am," he laughed, happy to comply. Soon he forgot all about the baby, all about his self-imposed warnings to be gentle and cautious and slow. The only things that existed in the whole of the universe was her and his love for her and the need they both had to bring that love to completion.

Later, sated and loose-limbed, he held her safe in his arms once again as their breathing and heartbeats slowed.

Eventually Lorelai sighed with satisfaction. "Mmm, I think that more than lived up to the amazing label."

"I concur," Luke said lazily.

"This has been a wonderful day."

"It has," he agreed again.

"You know…" she began, but then stopped and seemed to be collecting her thoughts. "Ever since I became a mom, I've listened to all of these other moms complain about their kids, and talk about how great it was to get rid of them for a day, or even a couple of hours, and I never understood. I mean, I loved being with Rory. She's always been my best friend, and spending time with her was the most fun thing ever. I hated when she started school, because that cut into our time together."

Luke smiled, listening to her. "You two have always been a team."

"Right." He felt her nodding. "But today…not having her around today…I finally understand what those other moms were talking about. I feel guilty as hell, but having a day without her was absolutely _wonderful_."

"She has been a pill," he said as neutrally as possible.

"Anyway, I hope that this weekend gives her a break, too. I hope that when she comes home she's become more aware that her life is still good, even if there is a baby coming."

Luke took some time to think about what he wanted to say. "I hope so, too, but Lorelai…this snotty stuff from her has got to stop. I agree, we can't _make_ her be happy, but I'm tired of hearing her disrespect you. I'm tired of tip-toeing around her. I'm tired of constantly feeling like our house is a battleground, her against us. We've got to come up with some sort of solution to make this work for all of us."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe a lesson in basic civility, if nothing else?"

Lorelai chuckled mirthlessly. "Well, I certainly know all about those frosty, polite smiles. Guess I can teach her."

He shrugged. "And maybe you're right. Maybe she'll come home a changed girl."

Lorelai yawned. "How sad is it that Christopher is our one last hope?"

They snuggled together, drifting towards sleep.

"Stop it," Lorelai said, a few minutes later.

"Stop what?"

"Stop jiggling me."

"I'm not jiggling you."

"Yes you are! Stop it! I'm trying to sleep."

"Lorelai, believe me, I have no strength left to 'jiggle' you."

"Then what –" She went still.

"What?" Luke pushed up to one elbow.

She continued to lie motionless as he became more alarmed by the second. "Lorelai, what?"

"Oh, Luke…it's…it's the baby," she whispered.

" _What?"_ he demanded harshly, trying to roll her over. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She flopped over on her back, and he could see her eyes shining up at him. "The baby's moving, Luke. Kicking. I…I can feel it," she said, her voice full of wonder.

The news knocked him speechless.

"Here." She took his hand and pressed it hard right above her pubic bone. "It's really, really light…I doubt that you can feel…"

He tried as hard as he could, but all he could feel was her soft skin.

Lorelai sighed. "I think she went back to sleep. She'll get stronger, though. Maybe strong enough that next time Daddy can feel."

"Do you think the lovemaking bothered him?" Luke asked worriedly.

"Probably not. I think she's pretty well insulated in there." Lorelai turned to face him. "It's more likely she's been moving and kicking for a while, but this was the first time I was still and quiet enough to sense it."

Luke reached out to stroke her hair. "Wow," he said, which sounded like the most inadequate response ever, considering the marvel that had just occurred.

"I know, right?" Lorelai laughed. "Perfect way to end this wonderful day, huh?"

Luke pulled her to him and held her against his chest. "I know you're pregnant –"

"Uh, yeah!" Lorelai cut in.

"I mean, of course I've known that. I know there's a baby. But to be aware that he's moving around, and…and alive…" He paused, trying to stumble upon what he wanted to say. "It just makes it all about a thousand times more real, doesn't it?"

Lorelai laughed and snuggled up against him. "It doesn't get any more real than this. Or any better."

"I love you," he whispered to her. He continued to hold her close long after she fell asleep, more determined than ever to find a way to get their family back on the right track.

* * *

The next evening they arrived at the Gilmore's precisely at 6:30. Lorelai had been so antsy to see Rory that she'd practically pushed them out the door, guaranteeing them an on-time arrival.

"Where's my girl?" Lorelai playfully demanded, as soon as the maid opened the front door.

Emily quickly walked into the entry, looking concerned. "She's upstairs, lying down in your room."

"Why? What's wrong?" Lorelai wanted to know immediately. She started for the stairs, but Emily stopped her.

"She says she's got a headache. I just checked on her and she's asleep. It might be best to let her be for right now."

Lorelai nodded, even though she looked incredibly disappointed. "Do you really think that's what it is? Or do you think the visit with Christopher tanked?"

Emily appeared conflicted. "Christopher was practically giddy when he brought her in. He couldn't stop talking about how much fun they'd had; what all they'd seen in the city, and Rory seemed to be of the same mind. But then as soon as he left, she sort of…deflated. Not long after that, she said the ride home had given her a headache, and asked if it was OK to go lie down. I said yes, of course."

"Did she take any aspirin?" Luke asked, always the practical one.

Emily smacked a hand against her forehead. "I'm an idiot. I didn't even think to offer any."

"If she fell asleep, that's probably the best thing for her," he commented.

"Well, let's go ahead and eat our dinner," Emily suggested. "It's almost ready. Once we're finished, we can see how she's doing. Maybe she'll feel better after her nap. I'll tell Ursula to keep her meal warm, in case she feels like eating later."

The dinner was pleasant with just the four adults. Luke had a hard time believing that this was the same Emily Gilmore who had terrorized her daughter for so many years. Lorelai's pregnancy had certainly softened up her brittle edges. She questioned them about the baby things they'd purchased over the weekend, wanting to know every detail, and eagerly asked what else they needed.

"Everything about having a baby has changed so much, even since you had Rory," she commented as they left the table.

"Well, you still get fatter and fatter as the weeks go by!" Lorelai laughed, lighting patting her stomach. "That hasn't changed."

"Oh, I wanted to show you this." Emily went over to a long box, yellowed with age, which was sitting on the coffee table. "This is another thing that doesn't change." She opened the box and carefully folded back the tissue paper protecting the contents.

"I remember these!" Lorelai smiled, bending over to gently touch the small garments. "These were Gran's, right?"

"And mine," Richard reminded her.

"And yours, as well." Emily smiled too.

Lorelai removed the top gown, exposing the one below. "Oh, this is the one that Rory wore!" She lovingly caressed the seed pearls stitched around the bodice of the tiny white dress.

"I wanted to get them out and see if they needed cleaned or repaired," Emily explained.

"In case you wanted to use any of them," Richard added. "But only if you want."

Lorelai looked at Luke, her mouth pursed in a sardonic smile. "Well, formal christenings aren't up my alley, normally, but…" She longingly fingered the exquisite little gown. "It might be nice, to do something a little traditional after the baby gets here. Luke, what do you think?"

What did he think? He thought anything that brought Lorelai and her parents closer together was a win, that's what he thought. Nevertheless, he dutifully came over to examine the delicate garments.

"They're a little…frilly, aren't they?"

"They're handstitched," Emily informed him. "Imported from France."

"But what if he's a boy?"

Richard looked at him askance. "Christening gowns know no gender, Luke. That one you're holding is mine, I'll have you know. As it was my father's before me."

"It was modeled on the one Queen Victoria dressed Prince Edward in for his christening," Emily said, going on with the history lesson.

"Wait. Edward. Wasn't he the playboy?" Lorelai asked. "Maybe not the best role model."

"What are you doing?" a plaintive voice asked from the doorway.

"Rory!" Lorelai rushed to her daughter's side. "How are you feeling, sweetie?" She wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder, drawing her close.

"Better, kinda." Rory yawned, still half-asleep. She put her arms around Lorelai and leaned into her, letting her head rest against her mom's shoulder.

"Aww, poor thing." Lorelai pushed back Rory's hair and put a soothing hand on her forehead. "Mean old headache got you, huh?"

"Yeah, Dad's car is weird. It was like I had to hold my head all wrong, or something," she complained. "My neck got this kink in it."

"Rory, would you like your dinner now?" Emily asked.

Rory straightened up at her grandmother's voice, and her arm accidentally brushed against the small mound of baby underneath Lorelai's sweater. She jumped away as if she'd been burned.

"No," she said brusquely.

"You might feel better if you eat," Luke suggested, hoping against hope that she'd go back to hugging her mom again. He'd give practically anything to see that look of contentment return to Lorelai's face.

Rory focused on him, instantly zeroing in on the petite gown still in his hands. She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just want to go home," she sullenly insisted.

"That might be for the best," Richard said amiably. He got up and walked over to Rory, patting her shoulder affectionately when he passed her. "There's nothing like getting in your own bed to put those aches and pains in their place. Let me get your coats."

Soon they were in the truck, ready to head to Stars Hollow. "You had a good time with your dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Can we not talk about it tonight?" Rory grumbled. "I just want to go back to sleep."

"Sure, sweetie," Lorelai said with a sigh. "Here. Lean your head on me and close your eyes."

At first Luke thought she was going to snub Lorelai's offer, but after a few moments of consideration, she did indeed curl up against her mother, soon closing her sad eyes.

Lorelai looked at him with her own sad eyes, giving a slight shrug before she put an arm around Rory.

There seemed nothing else he could do except to drive them safely home.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Rory was a little bit more social. Between eating bites of scrambled egg she answered questions about her visit with her father, and even offered up several stories about where they ate their meals and how the Fox Books in Christopher's neighborhood differed from the one in Hartford. She wasn't effusive, but she wasn't shutting them out, either.

Luke glanced at the clock. "You've got about five minutes before you need to head out. Is everything in your bookbag?"

She nodded, quickly shoving some more toast in her mouth.

"So, Rory…" Lorelai said slowly. She looked at Luke for moral support. "There's something I'd like to share with you."

"Yeah? What?"

"Something pretty major happened over the weekend." Lorelai smiled bravely. "I felt the baby kick for the first time."

"Eww, gross!" Rory looked horrified. "Why would you tell me something like that?"

"Because it's a big deal; a big milestone in the baby's development. I didn't want to leave you out of the news."

"Leave me out," she grumbled. "Please."

Lorelai sighed and looked at Luke again. He nodded encouragingly.

"I've got another doctor's appointment coming up later this week. We thought maybe you'd like to come along with us this time."

"No," she said coolly, downing her orange juice.

"That way you could ask the doctor any questions you might have. And it's pretty neat, hearing the baby's heartbeat. I'm sure it'd be OK if I wrote you a note to get out of school for the appointment."

"I said _no_." Rory got to her feet, annoyed. "No way am I missing any school because of this _stupid_ baby!"

Luke's patience, long at the breaking point, finally disintegrated. _"Rory!"_ he thundered, taking a step towards her from the sink.

She turned around to face him. "What?" she asked, but weirdly, she didn't seem to be mad. Instead she seemed almost…eager?

Before Luke could spend any time pondering her expression, Lorelai spoke up. "Luke," she interjected, not as a warning, but as a plea instead.

Rory was still watching him intently. It was almost as if she was holding her breath.

"I…I just thought…" He rubbed his forehead, unsure of how to backtrack after his explosion. "I wondered if you'd like to stop by the diner after school today, the way you used to."

"Why?" she asked, slightly suspicious.

"I've been thinking about adding a couple of new dishes to the menu. I wondered if you'd like to give me a hand. You could taste-test, even if you don't want to help me cook them."

She looked intrigued. "Yeah, that sounds like fun."

"OK, then, I'll see you after school." Luke was alarmed at how easily he was able to voice a lie when it was necessary.

Rory actually smiled. "Yeah, see you after school." Her smile faded as she looked at her mother. "Bye," she said quietly. She put on her coat and mittens, picked up her schoolbag, and exited through the back door.

"Luke, thank you." Lorelai held out her hand to him, squeezing his gratefully when he took hers. "I know this isn't the way you think we should handle her, but giving her more time is just the only solution I've got."

"Well, you are her mom," he said lightly. He bent to give her a kiss. _"But I'm your husband_ ," he reminded himself.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Luke stood outside of the diner, waiting for Rory. He was outside partially because it was one of those rare late February days when full sunshine made it seem milder and more spring-like than it actually was. The other reason was that he didn't wholly believe that Rory would show up.

However, a minute later he spotted her walking down the street with Lane. The girls said goodbye to each other and then Rory skipped across the street to the diner, her coat unbuttoned due to the uptick in temperature.

"What are you doing out here?" she greeted him, smiling widely.

"Felt good to stretch my legs, get some fresh air," he replied. He held open the door for her. "How was school?"

"Same old, same old," she shrugged, taking off her coat and laying her stuff down on a table. "Stupid boys, mean girls. Teachers trying to hold it all together."

While she talked, Luke turned his back to her. He flipped the diner's sign to 'closed.' He turned the lock and put down the blinds.

"What's going on?" Rory asked sharply.

"We need to have a talk," Luke said quietly. He sat down at one of the tables.

"You can't make me," she said belligerently.

"No. I can't," he agreed. "But I hope you still have enough respect for me that you'll agree to do it anyway."

After a moment of indecision, she wiped her palms against her jeans before slowly joining him at the table. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, not looking at him.

"We should have done this weeks ago, but your mom wanted you to work it out on your own. And frankly…" Luke smiled sadly. "I really didn't want to hear you tell me that I wasn't your real dad if I tried to force the issue."

Rory bent her head closer to the table and mumbled something.

"What?" Luke asked, straining his ears.

She already looked close to tears. "Nothing," she insisted.

"So…Rory." He tried to find the best way to get their dialog started. "I love you, you know. And I love your mom, very much. You two are the most important people in the world to me, and more than anything, I want both of you to be happy. But as you well know, right now none of us are happy. Your mom's sad, you're angry, and I'm miserable."

She raised stricken eyes to his face.

"It seems to me that we need to figure out how to get all of us happy again." He cleared his throat, wishing he could avoid the next sentence. "And if that means letting you go live with your dad, then that's what we need to do."

Her tears came even closer to the surface. "Dad doesn't have room for me."

Luke frowned. "Well, maybe we could help him find something bigger –"

"I don't mean just in his apartment! I mean anywhere!" She sniffled. "He doesn't have room for me anywhere."

"OK," Luke said, keeping his voice calm. "But if that's what you want –"

"That's _not_ what I want!"

"Then what _do_ you want?"

She wiped away the first tear that had spilled over her cheek. "I want things to go back to the way they were!"

Luke shook his head. "There's no way to do that. This baby's coming."

"Oh, I guess I know that!" she said hotly, swiping at her eyes.

"Rory, like it or not, your mom's already nurturing the baby. That's her job right now. And it's taken me longer than it should have to realize that as much as I want to take care of you, it's my job to protect your mom, too. The doctor's started to be concerned about her blood pressure, she says it looks like there's too much stress in her life." He looked levelly at Rory. "Gee, I wonder where that's coming from?"

She bent her head as the tears fell faster.

"Tell me what we can do," Luke begged, leaning forward in his seat. "Tell me how we can make this better."

Rory's shoulders were shaking with sobs. "I'm stuck!" she wailed.

"Stuck?"

"There's…there's all this…this meanness…" She gasped for breath between sobs and tried to articulate her feelings. "It's like there's nothing in me…except meanness…and every time I open my mouth…all of the terrible things…just flow out of me! I can't stop them. I'm stuck, and I don't know what to do to get unstuck!" She tearfully looked at Luke, her mouth quivering.

He snatched some napkins out of the dispenser and handed them to her so she could wipe her face. "If you're stuck and can't stop it, can you at least tell me how it got started? What caused all of the meanness?"

"It started…" Her shoulders heaved again, and she grabbed some more napkins to deal with the tears. "It started because it's so unfair!" she cried.

"What's unfair?"

"You! This! Everything!"

"I'm unfair?" Luke was putting every bit of concentration he had into understanding her. "Why am I unfair?"

"Because you're supposed to be _mine!"_

"Your what?"

" _My_ dad!"

Thunderstruck, Luke felt his mouth pop open. "Rory, we…we talked about this. I'll be…whatever you want me to be to you, as long as I don't get in the way of you and Christopher."

Rory didn't appear to be listening. "But instead, you and Mom went ahead and decided to have this _real_ family, and it's not fair! I didn't even get to enjoy having you at all!" She looked at him accusingly.

Luke sat back in his chair, trying to pull his thoughts together. "How much do you know about the…the birds and the bees stuff?"

She shrugged. "Enough to get by, I guess."

"Then you know, don't you, that babies aren't always exactly planned?"

"Luke," she scoffed, and pointed at herself. "I've known that all my life."

He threw up his hands. "Well then, I guess you've already got something in common with your new brother or sister."

"Wait. Are you saying…?" She stared at Luke as she considered his statement. "You mean, you and Mom didn't deliberately…?" She waved her hands at him vaguely, as her cheeks pinked up. "It wasn't planned?"

He shook his head. "This baby snuck up on all of us. A complete surprise." He took a deep breath. "We've all had to get used to the idea."

The news seemed to erase most of her tears and any desire to fight. "Oh," she said slowly, still staring at him. "Then I guess…that makes a big difference, doesn't it?"

"I'm sorry," Luke said sincerely. "I thought – we both assumed, I guess – that you knew that."

Rory took in a big, quivering breath of air. "I see how you and Mom are. You're so close. It's like she gives you all the special looks now; that the two of you have your own jokes and code words and things. All of the stuff that she used to do with me, she does with you now. And I guess…it made me sort of…well, jealous."

Luke winced. "Rory, neither of us want you to feel like that."

"No, no, it's OK. I get it. I mean, you guys are married and it should be that way, right?"

"Not if you feel left out," Luke said firmly.

"Anyway, I guess that's why I thought that the baby was just the next thing on your married list."

Luke couldn't choke back a laugh. "No, that wasn't even close to the top of the list."

Rory blinked and suddenly her eyes looked kind and sympathetic in a way he hadn't seen for months. "But you and Mom are OK about the baby coming now, aren't you? You're excited about it? Because that would be terrible, to be a kid you didn't want."

"We want the baby," he assured her. "It was a shock, but we're pretty excited about it now."

"Good," Rory said, relieved.

He reached across the table and took both of her hands in his. "We've already got a 'real' family, Rory. You, and your mom, and me. That's real, and the baby just gets added into it. I don't want you to think for even a second that there's any difference going on there." He lightly shook her hands. "Legally, I can't take the 'step' away from 'father.' That's what I am to you. But between us we can remove it, if that's what you want. Personally, I've thought of you as _my_ Rory, _my_ girl, for a long time. Maybe I haven't consciously used the word 'daughter,' but those terms feel like the same thing, don't they? I don't think there's any way I _could_ stop thinking of you as anything other than mine now. That's just the way it is."

Rory released a deep sigh. "I've thought about calling you...the – the d-word."

Luke quirked an eyebrow. "Dummy?"

She didn't smile. "Dad," she said softly. "You wouldn't mind?"

"Not a bit."

"Then…maybe I'll give it a try sometime."

"Whenever you want." He was so happy to be able to share a smile with her again.

"OK." She collapsed back into the chair with relief.

Luke settled into his seat, crossing his arms. "So. What do you need to do next?"

Her guilty eyes leaped back to his face. "Find some way to get Mom to forgive me."

He grinned again. "You really think that's going to be hard?"

She groaned, putting her hands over her face. "I've said such terrible things to her. I've been the worst kid ever. I don't know why she would forgive me."

"She loves you, Rory. Of course she's going to forgive you," he pointed out patiently.

"But I'm scared," she whispered. "I don't know how to even start."

"Then practice on me," he suggested as kindly as he could.

The knowledge seemed to pour over her that she'd hurt him too, and she looked horrified. "Oh, Luke, I'm…" Tears once again shone in her eyes. She started to speak, but when the words didn't come easily, she got out of her chair and came over to where he was sitting. She put her arms around him in a tentative hug, but once he hugged her back she nearly choked him. "Luke, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I know you are." He patted her back comfortingly.

Eventually she gave a huge sigh and went back to her seat. Two more crumpled napkins were added to her growing collection.

"Is the meanness gone?" Luke wanted to know.

"Yeah, I think so."

"If it comes back, you know what to do now, right?"

Rory looked at him a little blankly.

"You come talk to one of us. Tell us what you're upset about. Give us a chance to explain it to you."

She nodded seriously, but in another moment, mischief took over her features. "And you know what to do too, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Geez, Luke. I'm a kid; you're the adult. You should have never let me get away with it."

A laugh sputtered out of him. "I kept trying to tell Lorelai that."

At the mention of her mother's name, Rory sobered up again. "Would you show me the picture of the baby? The inkblot one? I really wanted to look at it the other day, but…" Ashamed, she looked down at the table.

"Evil Rory wouldn't let you?" Luke suggested.

Her head shot back up. "Evil Rory?"

"That's what we were calling you. We kept hoping that Sweet Rory would eventually make a comeback."

She chuckled. "Anyway, will you show me the picture again? I know it's right there on the fridge, but I wouldn't let myself look at it."

Luke folded his hands on the table. "No."

"Oh!" Her eyes grew wide in surprise, and then her mouth drooped in sadness. "OK, I understand."

Luke leaned across the table and tapped her arm. "You ask your mother. She's the one who deserves the joy of showing you the ultrasound picture."

Rory nodded, but looked more and more nervous. "I still feel like I should do more than just say 'I'm sorry' to her."

"That's all she needs," Luke stated.

"But it's so lame." She suddenly brightened as an idea blossomed. "Wait, could we give her a party?"

"A party?"

"Yes! You know she _loves_ parties!"

"She does, but parties take time to organize, and I don't want her waiting any longer to get this settled. In fact, I'm tempted to take you over to the Inn right now, to put her mind at ease faster."

"No!" Rory shook her head frantically. "Luke, please, I need some time to decide what to say to her so she'll believe how sorry I am. She deserves a really good apology."

"Well…I guess I can't argue with that."

"She _deserves_ a party. An "I'm Sorry" party!"

"Rory, no."

"It doesn't have to be anything crazy, Luke. If you could bring home something special for dinner, I'll take care of everything else. I promise!"

"Like what?" he wanted to know, still skeptical.

"I've got some money. I'll get a cake from Fran and ask her to write something special on it. And I'll decorate the house somehow. Mom loves balloons and streamers."

He was still inclined to say no. "Who all is coming to this party?"

"Just us."

"Then I don't understand what the purpose of it is."

"It's…" Rory faded off and seemed to be reevaluating. "I guess it's really just a way for me to sort of ease into it." She rubbed her hands together apprehensively. "I'm really nervous about this, Luke. I don't know what to say to her. I'm really scared that maybe…she hates me now."

Luke shook his head. "Rory, trust me, this is going to be the happiest day of her life."

"Happier than your wedding day?"

He grinned. "OK, one of her happiest days."

"You'll let me do the party?" Rory asked quickly, jumping in to take advantage of his good mood.

"As long as it's nothing more than what you've already said. A cake and some decorations, and I'll bring us home something to eat."

"Deal," she said, sticking out her hand.

Luke took her hand but didn't shake it. "And you tell her the second she gets home. No dragging this out."

Rory gulped. "OK," she said meekly.

"Then I'll agree to it." He solemnly shook her hand.

"I'd better get busy." She got up and started to put her coat on.

"And I'd better get the diner opened back up." Luke headed towards the door.

Rory gave him a hug as she left. "Thanks for helping to kill the meanness."

He squeezed her shoulders. "Good to have your sweet self back."

"Can you bring home lasagna?"

"If I have time. If not, it'll be meatloaf, OK?"

"Yeah, that will work too. Mom loves meatloaf."

"She does indeed." He put his hand on top of her head. "She loves you, too," he reminded her.

"I hope so," she murmured, still worried. Then she squared her shoulders and gave him a smile. "I'll see you at home."

"You bet." He opened the door and stepped outside with her, this time fully enjoying the unexpectedly nice day as he watched her scurry down the street towards Weston's.

* * *

The weather had turned cooler by evening, but Luke still decided to wait on the front porch for Lorelai to come home. When her car came down the street, he went to greet her in front of the garage.

She pushed open the driver's side door and he took her arms, helping to pull her to her feet.

"You look happy. Did you do something slutty?" she teased, circling her arms around his neck.

"Not since Saturday," he said, trying harder to get his poker face in place.

She laughed and gave him a kiss.

"What are you doing home, anyway? I thought you were closing tonight," Lorelai commented, as they walked up to the porch arm-in-arm.

"I'm going to go back to close. Just taking a dinner break."

"Ooh, does that mean there's already dinner inside?" she asked eagerly.

"It's possible." He held open the door so she could enter ahead of him. He couldn't wait to see her reaction.

Her mouth dropped open at the streamers and shiny balloons hanging in the entrance to the living room. "What's all this?" She pushed through and looked at the twinkle lights and construction paper hearts lining the fireplace. "Did you do this? Is it like a second Valentine's Day or something?"

Luke shook his head and silently pointed to a cake sitting on the coffee table. Lorelai looked at him a trifle suspiciously, but hurried over to examine the treasure from Weston's.

A girl's face, of which it could charitably be said looked something like Rory's, was drawn in icing on the cake's top. Blue icing tears dripped down her face. _Sorry-sorry-sorry_ was piped in purple buttercream all around the edge.

Lorelai gasped. "What is this?"

"Rory!" Luke said loudly. "Your mom's home."

Rory appeared, nervously holding a stack of poster board in her arms.

"Rory, what –?"

Rory put up a finger, indicating for her mom to wait. Then, with a deep breath and an anxious look at Luke, she flipped over the first piece of thin white cardboard.

 _Mom, I'm sorry_

 _I know I've been a brat_

"What is going on?" Lorelai was still shaking her head, mystified.

Rory held up the second poster.

 _But I hope you can forgive me_

 _For all of that_

"Oh, Rory," Lorelai whispered, as the realization set in.

 _I know I've been a pill_

 _But I hope you won't cut me out of the will_

Lorelai laughed, almost tearfully. "There's no money, kid, so there's no will. Hate to break it to you like this. Your best bet is to suck up to Grandma and Grandpa."

 _I love you a lot_

 _I love the baby too_

 _I hope you and Luke_

 _Won't make me go live in a zoo_

"Never," Lorelai promised.

 _I promise I'll be nice_

 _I promise I'll be kind_

 _I promise I'll be the best big sister_

 _You will ever find_

"I know you will!" Although still smiling, Lorelai was openly wiping her eyes.

Rory held up the last piece of posterboard. A big red heart encircled the words _Forgive me, please?_

"Of course, baby. Of course!" Lorelai sped across the room to her daughter, arms open.

They hugged and laughed and cried, swaying slightly in their happy exuberance.

Luke could hear an occasional word or sometimes a fragment of one, but he didn't interfere until the swaying got more pronounced and he worried that Lorelai would be the one who ended up on the floor. That was when he went over and gently nudged them towards the couch.

"What brought on this change of heart?" Lorelai wanted to know, still holding Rory close. She smiled at Luke as if she already knew.

Rory pulled away from her mom long enough to smile at Luke too. "Evil Rory is gone," she joked.

Lorelai briefly frowned. "You know about Evil Rory?"

Luke put up his hands, ready to deflect whatever criticism was coming.

"Yep, but she's gone, and all of the bad feelings I had are gone, and it all makes so much more sense now that I've talked to Luke."

"Is that right?" Lorelai said appraisingly.

"Yeah, he really helped me to get some things straightened out."

"I think I should head back to the diner," Luke said quickly.

"Aww, do you have to?" Rory complained. "There's meatloaf!"

"Actually, there's lasagna."

Rory looked at him adoringly. "You made lasagna after all?"

Luke started to inch towards the door. "There's salad in the refrigerator, too. It would be really nice if both of you would eat some of it."

"Oh! The refrigerator!" Rory jumped up from the couch and ran to the kitchen as if on an important mission.

"You don't want to stay?" Lorelai asked, hurriedly following him to the door.

"Seems like this should be your time with her," Luke observed, pausing long enough to smile nervously at her.

She put a hand on her arm. "So you talked to her, huh?"

"Look, I know you didn't want me to, and if you're mad –"

"I'm not mad."

Luke had to swallow down the rest of his explanation. "You're not?"

"Hard to be mad when it worked." She pulled him towards her for a kiss. "But I would like to hear about it later."

"She was ready for this to be over, that's the main thing. I just gave her an opening." He hugged her and gave her another quick kiss. "Have Rory tell you the rest," he suggested, nodding towards where Rory was just re-entering the room, the ultrasound picture in her hand. "I suspect you're going to have _a lot_ to talk about."

Lorelai kissed him again. "Thanks," she whispered. "Hurry home."

At the door, Luke took one last look back at the girls, now cuddled together on the couch, looking at the inkblot picture of the baby. With a pang, he remembered another night, not that long ago, when he'd wanted to stay there with them so badly instead of facing his lonely apartment. Now this was his home, there was a spot for him on the couch with them, and he'd be back to join them as soon as he shut down the diner. Life was pretty damn good.

"Hey, Dummy!" Rory called out to him, breaking his reverie. She was grinning from ear to ear. "See you later!"

" _Rory!"_ Lorelai admonished, aghast.

"No, it's OK," Luke said, chuckling. "It's like a code word between us. Don't worry, I know what she means."

He rushed to the diner, determined to get through the closing routine faster than he ever had before.

* * *

"I need to show you something," Rory said a few weeks later, climbing up on a stool at the counter. Stopping by the diner after school had once again become part of her daily routine.

"Sure, just let me finish up a patty melt in the kitchen and I'll be right back," Luke promised, picking up a bin of dirty dishes to take to the back with him.

"OK, what's up?" he asked, after the plate of melted cheese over a ground beef patty and a generous order of fries had been delivered to Andrew.

"I've got an idea." Rory pulled a folded piece of paper out of her coat pocket. "I saw this in a woodworking magazine at the library, and I made a copy of it." She carefully unfolded it and turned it so he could see it clearly.

"It's…a cradle?" Luke tilted his head, trying to judge how it was made.

"Yeah, a cradle that looks like a giant crescent moon! Isn't it adorable?"

Luke shrugged. "It's OK, I guess."

Rory shook her head at him. "Pretend you're Mom. Now look at it again."

He laughed; made a show of covering his eyes with his hands and then pulling them away in wide amazement. "You're right. She'd go nuts over it." He flipped the paper over. "Where are the directions?"

"I only had a dime with me so I couldn't copy more pages. I thought maybe you'd come with me to the library sometime so I could show you the plans."

Luke had a sudden vision of the cradle sitting in the newly emptied room upstairs, a ray of afternoon sun making the stained finish gleam. He could almost see the tiny curly-headed occupant asleep within it. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Let's see what it would take to make one."

"Yay!" Rory clapped her hands, beaming. "And I can help make it, right?"

"You want to?"

"Luke! Yes!" She sounded aggrieved. "It was my idea."

He bit down on his lips to stifle his smile. The construction of the cradle would be a thousand times more fun with her as his helper.

"Do you think we can get it done by Mom's birthday?"

"Hard to tell," Luke said, glancing at the picture again. "Until I see the plans, it's hard to know how long it might take."

"I thought it would be really neat to make it a birthday surprise."

"We've got…what? Three weeks? We might really have to hustle to make it happen, then."

"Can we go over to the library right away?" Rory bounced on the stool, anxious to get started.

"Pretty soon. Let me take care of some things first. Why don't you have a snack and then I'll take a break and we'll go over."

"Bring dimes," Rory told him seriously.

Luke tapped a finger against the Xeroxed page. "It doesn't look like they used a very good quality of wood. I think we can do better than that."

"And paint it pink."

He snorted. "We are _not_ painting it pink."

" _She_ needs a pink cradle, Luke."

" _He_ would rather have a handsomely stained cradle that brings out the natural beauty of the wood."

"Girls like pink," Rory insisted, an impish grin on her face. She had sided with her mother on the still-to-be-determined sex of the baby.

"You just wait until they finally get a clear view on the ultrasound. I'm going to be so vindicated." In truth, Luke didn't care one way or another. It was just fun to needle the girls sometime.

"Whatever. In the meantime, I'll take a doughnut with sprinkles and a glass of chocolate milk while I'm waiting."

"Cheese and crackers and a glass of apple juice coming right up."

They smiled at each other like the co-conspirators they were.

* * *

"This does not look like the way to a fancy restaurant," Lorelai observed as they turned down the lane leading to the Tallman farm.

"I don't believe we ever said we were taking you to a fancy restaurant," Luke refuted, doing his best to miss the biggest ruts in the drive. He didn't want to jostle Lorelai and the baby at all if he could help it.

"You told me we were going out for a birthday surprise. What sort of birthday surprise doesn't include a meal?"

Rory shook her head. "Not everything's about food, Mom."

Lorelai scoffed and patted her rounded belly. "Tell that to this one."

"There might be food a little bit later on. There's just another surprise first." Luke tried to placate her as he parked as close as he could to the barn housing the wood shop.

"We're not that far from Sniffy's," Lorelai pointed out broodingly.

"Wow, Luke, I didn't realize that. Did you?" Rory leaned past her mother to catch his eye and wink at him.

"Darn," Luke said blandly. "Wish I had thought of that. We could have made reservations."

"Ordered a cake," Rory added.

"Asked other people to join us."

"Too bad," Rory sighed.

"Yeah. Maybe next year." He quickly kissed Lorelai's cheek before exiting the truck. He waved at Ed Tallman, who was walking down the path from the house to join them.

Rory jumped down from the cab and also waved at Ed before turning to give her mom a hand.

"Here, let me," Luke said, hurrying around to the passenger side so he could be the one to help Lorelai down.

"Luke, I'm fine," she said impatiently.

"I know, but you've got on heels and it's mostly gravel here," he said, justifying his caution.

"Lorelai, don't you just look like a rose ready to bloom," Ed said gallantly.

"I feel more like a watermelon ready to pop," Lorelai disputed with a smile. "And I've still got better than three months to go. I don't even want to think what that's going to be like."

"I imagine your devoted crew here will look after you."

"Oh, you know that's true!" She laughed and put an arm around Rory. "I can't get rid of them. They just follow me around all day and night, doing my bidding."

"Let me be useful too." Ed walked over to the door leading to the workshop and held it open.

Luke made sure that Lorelai stepped up over the threshold, and his strong arm around her waist helped her navigate down the narrow passageway to the back of the barn.

"Luke, I really can walk on my own." She was starting to sound annoyed.

"I know, but you said just the other day how this lump of baby is throwing off your balance, and I'm not letting you fall down, especially not on your birthday."

Her eyes rolled. "I'm not going to fall down," she grumbled. But then she leaned a little closer to him and whispered. "Unless somebody is doing something they shouldn't be doing on the stairs."

Luke was the one who then lost his footing, and Lorelai had to steady him. "Ha!" she crowed, delighted.

He shook his head and tried to ignore his literal misstep. "Ed and Rory, why don't you go ahead and open up the door to the shop and turn on the light?"

While they hurried to do as he asked, he stopped Lorelai beside the door and moved in front of her. "We weren't able to wrap it, so we're going to have to be a little creative here." He held her forearms in order to lead her, and then walked backwards, blocking her view until they were far enough inside the workshop. "Happy birthday," he said, leaning forward to give her a kiss. Then he stepped out of the way.

At first she frowned, not comprehending. "It's a model of the Death Star?"

"No!" Rory giggled. She ran over and grabbed her mother's hand, bringing her in for a closer look from a slightly different angle. She reached up for the tip on one side of the crescent moon and pulled, causing it to gently rock back and forth.

"Oh my God! It's a cradle?" Lorelai's face lit up in amazed delight. She ran her hands over the burnished wood and bent down to examine the small mattress tucked into the box-like bed sandwiched between the two sides of the moon. "You guys! This is the most awesome thing ever!"

"You like it?" Rory asked shyly.

"I love it! The baby will, too." She walked around it, looking over all of the details. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Yes, that's why we had to make it," Rory said, a little flippantly.

"I can't _believe_ you made this."

"They did a great job, didn't they?" Ed said, sounding as proud as if he'd had a hand in the creation himself.

Rory poked a finger through one of the cut-out stars scattered at the top of the cradle. "I did this one all by myself."

Lorelai stopped and stared at her daughter. "Are you serious?"

"You bet I'm serious! I decided where it should go, and I traced out the design, then I cut it out, and then I sanded all of the edges so it was nice and smooth." She rubbed her finger all over the 5-pointed star to emphasize her carpentry skills.

"That's amazing. I can't believe you –" The end of Lorelai's sentence stalled as she blinked back tears. She touched the beautiful cradle reverently, then spread her arms out around it, almost as if she was giving it a hug. "This is just…the _best_ thing…" She wiped away a few tears, her emotions overcoming her. "Just knowing that the two of you made this together, for the baby…" She turned and looked lovingly at her husband and her daughter, as more tears flowed. "It's the best thing ever!"

Luke couldn't stand to see her cry, not even happy tears. He quickly came to her side and gave her a hug.

" _You're_ the best." She kissed him, smiling and crying at the same time. She let him go and reached for Rory. "You're the best, too," she said, hugging her tightly for a long moment.

"Ed, don't think you're getting out of this lovefest." Lorelai walked over and hugged him as well. "You're the best too, you know."

"We are all exceptional, it's true," Ed laughed, patting her shoulder.

"Oh my gosh, I'm a mess," Lorelai murmured, fighting to get her composure back. Ed offered her his handkerchief.

Luke came to stand beside her again, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Our only problem is that we haven't quite figured out how to get it home yet."

"It can't come home?" Lorelai asked, baffled.

"Oh, it can. It will. It's just not the easiest thing to transport."

"It's too wide to lay flat in the truck bed," Rory explained.

"We'll probably have to strap it down somehow." Luke shrugged. "Don't worry, we'll get it home, even if I have to rent a U-Haul to do it. Besides, it's not quite ready yet. I still want to give it another coat of varnish first."

"Oh, I was going to ask about that," Lorelai said seriously. "What if we painted it instead?"

"Pink!" Rory piped up, and she and Lorelai exchanged high-fives.

"Paint is non-negotiable," Luke said firmly. "This is the best grade of walnut I could find. We spent a week sanding it to bring out the grain and to get the surface to this satin perfection. No paint is ever coming near this."

Lorelai turned to Rory. "Maybe we could just do some swirls and spots around the stars?"

"No," Luke once again decreed. "No paint. Ever."

"I thought this was _my_ present," Lorelai said frostily. "I don't get a say?"

"It is your present," Luke had to agree, "but as the craftsman who made it –"

Lorelai talked right over him. "Then the birthday girl wants you to take a paintbrush –"

"Lorelai," Luke groaned.

"Mom," Rory worriedly interjected.

"Take a paintbrush and sign your names somewhere on this amazing piece of craftsmanship," Lorelai finished up, smoothing her hands over the edge of the closest crescent.

"Our names?"

"Yes." Lorelai nodded decisively. "I want all of the Danes and Gilmore babies who will be rocked in this cradle for generations to come to know that it was made by the two of you."

"Oh, well, then I guess…" Luke reconsidered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess that would be OK. Rory? Does that sound OK to you?"

"I think that's nice," she agreed. "I like the idea of my little sister maybe tracing over my name with her finger someday."

"Brother," Luke corrected, half-heartedly.

Lorelai hugged Rory again. "Or maybe your own little girl, someday."

Rory's eyes grew big. "Wow," she said, looking at the cradle. "Then I'm glad we didn't take any shortcuts, Luke. I'm glad we used both wood glue and screws when we put it together."

All three adults chuckled. "Me too," Luke agreed.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, I believe it's time to find this mama-to-be some food." Ed looked around at all of them. "Isn't that right?"

"You're coming too?" Lorelai asked happily.

"Wouldn't miss it," Ed confirmed. "Tell you what, Rory, why don't you ride along with me and help me navigate the back way to Sniffy's, and that way your mom and dad can –" He cut himself off, looking embarrassed. "Oops," he muttered.

"Nah, that's OK," Rory said, with a shrug and a smile. "That's mostly the way I think of them too."

"Well then," Ed said, after a small pause, "I guess life's pretty good for you all, isn't it?"

Lorelai nodded madly, tears once again shining in her eyes. It looked to Luke as if she wanted to say something but didn't trust herself to get the words out, so he leaped into the breach. "It's not bad," he agreed, smiling at Rory.

"You two go on and get out of here," Ed suggested. "Rory and I will lock up and meet you at the restaurant."

"Sounds like a great plan," Lorelai said, once again under control. She went over to pet the cradle goodbye. "See you at the Crapshack soon," she promised it.

Luke helped Lorelai out of the barn and saw her safely up into the truck's cab. Once he was in his seat, instead of starting up the motor, he turned towards her, reaching to take her hand. "I realized earlier today that a year ago tonight, I got to make love to you for the first time."

"And the second time. And the third time, if I recall correctly," she slyly reminded him. "Best birthday present ever." She leaned over for a kiss.

"Better than the cradle?" he wanted to know.

"I love the cradle, but…yes," she laughed. Their hands were still clasped, and she raised them now and placed them against her heart. "There's so much I want to say, but I'd do so at the risk of crying off the little bit of mascara still left on my eyelashes."

"Better not do that, then. Your mom would surely notice."

"You invited my parents?"

"It seemed like the family thing to do," Luke said dryly. "Plus, Rory wanted them there."

Lorelai sighed theatrically. "One way or another, that girl will be the death of me yet." She smiled sheepishly. "It's good you included them, though," she admitted, before sighing and squeezing his hand, the one that was still held over her heart. "All of those things I don't dare say…you know what they are, right?"

He kissed her again. "I do."

"I mean, all of the mushy stuff, about how much I love you, and what an amazing man you are, and how I must be the absolutely luckiest woman on earth…"

"I know," he confirmed, taking her in his arms. "I feel the exact same way," he said softly.

"You feel like you're the luckiest woman on earth?"

"This isn't the time to quibble over semantics," he muttered, and gave her a kiss that plainly told her of everything in his heart.

The baby kicked against him, reminding him that right now they had other obligations to see to.

"All right, all right," he said, patting the baby back. He gave Lorelai one last quick, sweet kiss, and then fired up the truck to head to her birthday dinner.

"Make sure you look surprised when we get there," he warned her, and she laughed as they drove away.


End file.
